The Montreal Canadiens are set to face the New York Islanders tonight at the Bell Centre in what should be an exciting match. The Canadiens are looking to rebound as they are coming off their first overtime loss of the season. The Islanders are sitting at 3rd in the Eastern Conference with 17 points, just one behind the New York Rangers for the Metropolitan division lead. There will be no lineup changes for the Canadiens as Mike Condon get the start once again in the place of the injured Carey Price. Alex Semin remains a healthy scratch for the 5th consecutive game.
On the Islanders side, former Hab Jaroslav Halak gets the start in net while Captain John Tavares will make his return to the lineup after being sidelined with the flu.
Tavares says he had the flu, couldn't eat anything all weekend, started eating again yesterday afternoon pic.twitter.com/VpuhAgbCcz
— Robyn Flynn (@ladyhabs) November 5, 2015In 5 games against his former club, Halak has played quite well earning 4 wins to just one loss. It has been many years since Halak was traded in exchange for Lars Eller but fans will always have a warm place in their hearts for the goalie that led the team to the conference finals in 2010. However, fans won’t mind one bit if the Canadiens offence is able to come alive and score a few goals on Halak tonight…
Even though the Canadiens lost in overtime to the Senators on Tuesday night, there is no sense of panic. The Canadiens had plenty of opportunities, played their game and simply ran into a hot goaltender, Craig Anderson who always seems to play well against the Habs. Max Pacioretty is in a 5 game goal and point drought but showed signs of life, especially in the 3rd period. He has 17 points in 19 games against the Islanders so don’t be surprised if he breaks through again tonight. Devante Smith-Pelly will get another chance to play alongside of Alex Galchenyuk and Lars Eller. They also had some good moments Tuesday night but there was an inevitable lack of communication between the players, especially when entering the offensive zone. Galchenyuk needs to use his wicked shot a little more often and Smith-Pelly and Eller will be around the crease looking for rebounds. Despite losing his 1st NHL game against the Senators, Condon gave the Habs a chance to win. One cannot ask for more from him. He made some incredible saves to keep the Habs in the game. At this point through the season, one has to say that Condon’s play has been the most pleasant surprise thus far.
5 Questions Heading Into Tonight’s Game:
1) Will the Canadiens much improved powerplay score a goal for the 4th consecutive game? The passing and scoring play by Markov and Galchenyuk to Dale Weise last game was a thing of beauty. Even when the Habs didn’t score, they still moved the puck well and created opportunities. The Canadiens are up to 4th in the league on the powerplay, something that didn’t seem feasible at the beginning of the season. How effective will Tavares be coming off of the flu? It’s always a treat to watch him play but coming off the flu the legs tend to lag for a bit…
3) Is the 4th line as effective without the physical play of Smith-Pelly? Brian Flynn was on the mediocre side against the Senators. He’ll need to show a little more to keep his spot in the lineup.
4) When will Alex Semin get back into the lineup? According to Chris Nilan, at practice he is not showing enough effort or desire, never a good sign.
5) Will tonight’s game be another goaltender’s duel and low scoring affair?
Puck drops at 7:30pm.
Cheers & Enjoy the Game! Follow @Jenbcutler