Full SENd, Gm 38: Islanders vs. Senators, Lines & More

The New York Islanders (15-16-6) host the Ottawa Senators (14-21-4) Tuesday night, for the first of a back-to-back before the 2022 NHL All-Star break. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 PM at UBS Arena.

“I thought we played pretty well the last couple games, didn’t get the result,” Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said following Tuesday’s morning skate. “We say with the process we’ll get the result. And obviously, with two games, they’re back to back. Let’s just start with tonight by playing a real solid game.”

“Try to get a victory and then we’ll move forward from there.”

The Islanders, this season, have had no trouble against the weaker teams in the NHL, with a record of 9-2-3 against teams under .500.

Ryan Pulock was on the ice for a third-straight skate and took part in all of the drills. He was back atop the second power-play unit and did not stay on with the extras. Defenseman Robin Salo did.

That’s a good sign that Pulock is back in the lineup and will play in his first game since Nov. 15 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

“He’s a big piece of our team,” Islanders forward Matt Martin said about Pulock. “He’s been a dynamic defenseman for us for the last number of years. So if he is back in the lineup tonight, then that’s going to give us a huge boost.”

The birthday boy Kyle Palmieri (31) did not partake in Tuesday’s optional morning skate but will play against the Senators. Ross Johnston and Kieffer Bellows stayed on after practice, along with Austin Czarnik, Sebastian Aho, and Salo.

Ilya Sorokin was the first netminder off the ice and will start against the Ottawa Senators. That likely means Semyon Varlamov gets the nod Wednesday against the Seattle Kraken.

Anton Forsberg gets the start in goal for the Ottawa Senators.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Anders Lee — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

Anthony Beauvillier— Brock Nelson— Kyle Palmieri

Zach Parise— Jean-Gabriel Pageau —Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech — Scott Mayfield

Zdeno Chara— Noah Dobson

Andy Greene—Ryan Pulock

Ilya Sorokin

Semyon Varlamov

OTTAWA SENATORS LINES (PROJECTED)

Brady Tkachuk—Tim Stutzle—Tyler Ennis

Alex Foremnton—Chris Tierney—Adam Guadette

Zach Stanford—Nick Paul—Austin Watson

Clark Bishop—Mark Kastelic—Egor Sokolov

Thomas Chabot—Lassi Thomson

Nick Holden—Artem Zub

Erik Brannstrom—Josh Brown

Anton Forsberg

Matt Murray

NEW YORK ISLANDERS GAME NOTES

Tonight, the New York Islanders host the Ottawa Senators in the second of three matchups between the teams this season.

The last meeting was in Ottawa on December 7, 2021. Four Islanders scored in the 5-3 win, including Anders Lee, who scored twice, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Tonight is the sixth of a seven-game home-stand for the Islanders, the longest in their schedule this season.

The Islanders have a 6-4-0 record in their last ten games, nine of which have been at UBS Arena. The last time the Islanders played the Senators on home ice was November 5, 2019.

BETTING CORNER

The New York Islanders are the home favorites for Sunday night’s contest as they come in at -275  and are +100 on the puck line. The Ottawa Senators are the road underdogs, as they are +220 with their reverse puck line odds at -122.

The over for the contest is set at 5.5 at -112 while the under 5.5. is at -110.

HOW TO WATCH