Ottawa Senators vs New York Islanders: Game P1 & P2 Preview
The Ottawa Senators and New York Islanders kick off their respective pre-season schedules with a unique split-squad double header in Newfoundland. Why these teams are playing exhibition games in the home of the Winnipeg Jets’ affiliate is a little puzzling, but hey its hockey time!
VS
Game 1: 1:30 PM EST
Game 2: 6:00 PM EST
Mile One Centre, St. John’s NFLD
TV: NONE RADIO: TSN1200
MATCHUP HISTORY
The Islanders and Senators squared off 3 times last season, with the Isles taking 2 games (1 of them in a shootout) and the Senators winning once. Erik Karlsson led the crop of current Senators with 3 assists in the series, while Josh Bailey led the Islanders with a goal and two assists.
LAST GAMES
These are the opening games of the pre-season for both clubs, after both teams failed to make the playoffs last season.
PLAYERS TO WATCH – obvioulsy there will be a lot of things to watch in this one. Here are some of the key players scheduled to participate. You can see the full breakdown of the anticipated lineups HERE.
Game 1
Senators – The Senators will ice a lineup that could include Curtis Lazar, Matt Puempel, Milan Michalek, Shane Prince, Mika Zibanejad, Zack Smith, Mike Hoffman, Alex Chiasson, Mark Stone, Jared Cowen, Chris Phillips, Cody Ceci, Frederik Claesson and Robin Lehner.
Islanders – The Islanders are scheduled to counter with the likes of Michael Grabner, Bailey, Ryan Strome, Cal Clutterbuck, Matt Martin, Casey Cizikas, Matt Carkner, Matt Donovan, Griffin Reinhart and Chad Johnson.
Game 2
Senators – The evening affair will have the most star power with Kyle Turris, Bobby Ryan (if he is cleared to play after being injured in the Sunday intra-squad game), Clarke MacArthur, Nick Paul, David Legwand, Chris Neil, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Erik Karlsson, Marc Methot, Eric Gryba and Craig Anderson.
Islanders – The Isles will counter with veterans such as John Tavares, Kyle Okposo, Mikhail Grabovski, Nikolai Kulemin, Cory Conacher, Calvin de Haan, Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Jaroslav Halak
TOP 3 STORYLINES FOR THE GAMES
1. Make an Impact – For guys like Lazar, Puempel, Pageau, Stone, Hoffman and others who might be on the bubble, there will only be about 3 opportunities to make an impression to show they deserve one of the few open spots. Last year Pageau and Stephane Da Costa beat Mika Zibanejad out for a roster spot and those guys will be looking to turn the same trick.
2. Stay Healthy – With some veterans assured of a spot and just using these tuneup games to get up to speed, coming out of the exhibition season healthy will be key. Having Ryan get hurt in the first real scrimmage is not a good thing, and he will likely be held out of Monday’s game with lots of bodies on the trip.
3. Battle between the Pipes – While Craig Anderson was once again anointed as the #1 goalie heading into the season, you can bet Robin Lehner is tired of that and wants to show that he should be in the discussion rather than an Anderson acclamation.
ENJOY LISTENING TO THE GAMES!