-Buffalo exacts sweet, sweet revenge. -1/5 of Miller's starts so far are shut outs -Islanders 4 game win streak has been snapped -Tavares also had his four game point streak broken, reports indicate that he was sent to his room without dessert. -Derek Roy got his first goal of the season. -Buffalo is now 5 points ahead of Ottawa and Montreal, 6 points ahead of Boston, and a lot of points ahead of the Maple Leafs
Montreal Canadiens Record: 3-5-0 (4th in the Northeast)
New York Islanders Record: 1-3-3 (Last in the Atlantic)
Canadiens Record vs. Islanders Since 2005: 11-3-1-1
Canadiens Likely Goalie: Jaroslav Halak. Price is sulking
Islanders Likely Goalie: Martin Biron
Preview Notes: The Montreal Canadiens finally broke their 5 game losing streak against the Atlanta Thrashers and look to continue that momentum agains the lowly Islanders.
The Islanders have managed to bring three opponents to OT/Shoot out but just cannot seem to finish games. Not that anyone expected anything different this season. Teenager John Tavares will be signing autographs for the kids on the Montreal Canadiens roster prior to the game as a special treat for those little guys!
The Canadiens have been extremely inconsistent and the 7 million dollar man Scott Gomez only has one goal on the season and the entire team chemistry just seems off. Nothing better to help ease that than playing the Islanders (well, I guess a game against the Maple Leafs would be better, but still).
The Islanders finally got their first win last night in a shootout against the Whalers. Can the Islanders take momentum from their first win and go on a roll, or will the midgets from Montreal awake from their afternoon naps and defeat the Islanders in this Mite League contest? Either way, both teams seem likely to finish near the bottom of their respective divisions.
Preview Notes: The Buffalo Sabres are playing great hockey lately and look to continue against the Islanders. After scoring just 4 goals in 3 games, the Sabres scored 6 in their last game against Detroit. Ryan Miller has been almost unbeatable.
The Islanders, while better than last year, are still struggling to find their first win. Rookie John Tavares has 2 goals and 5 points in four games so far for the young Islanders. The Islanders have come close to winning with one of their 4 games going to over time and two of them going to the shootout. The way Miller and the rest of the Sabres have been playing, win #1 looks doubtful.
Buffalo will be without Thomas Vanek who is recovering from an "upper body" injury.
After another embarrassing loss on Thursday, a 6-1 to slaying by the Ducks, the Boston Bruins will welcome John Tavares and the SeattleKansas CityBrooklyn New York Islanders.
Tim Thomas is expected to get the start, but do not be surprised to see Tuuka Rask in net if Thomas is too embarrassed to face the TD Garden crowd again.
The Islanders have been surprisingly decent on the penalty kill so far this young season and the Bruins have been about as good on the power play as Pierre McGuire is at objective announcing.
If Boston continues their small trend of getting blown out, blowing out a team and then getting blown out the Islanders may be in trouble.
The Bruins fourth line of Byron Bitz, Steve Begin and Shawn "Wayne" Thornton have been the only Boston line that has consistently shown any effort or made scoring chances (Thornton leads the team with 11 shots and is not afraid to drop the gloves).
Marc Savard has four points this season but has not played as well as those stats might indicate. Someone needs to teach him to shoot at a wide open net instead of passing.
Last season the Bruins were 4-0 against the Islanders but that could change this season the way the Bruins are playing. Boston is surprisingly allowing 3.67 goals per game behind an incredibly shaky defense and a soft Tim Thomas.
Either Mark Stuart or Matt Hunwick is expected to sit tonight to make room for Johnny Boychuk in an effort to shake up the defense. Plus Boychuk's name is cooler.
Dwayne Roloson is expected to start tonight for the Islanders.
Instead of recent highlights, lets travel in time to 1980 for a little Boston Bruins vs New York Islanders action.
Three Stars:
