The New York Islanders face the Ottawa Senators with both teams on opposite ends of the Eastern Conference to start the season. The Islanders have a 10-6 record and with eight wins in the last 10 games, have leaped into second place in the Metropolitan Division. The Senators have a 5-8-1 record and are in last place in the Atlantic Division. Both teams are looking to improve in the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Islanders are having a great season with their offense stepping up and scoring 3.31 goals per game. Brock Nelson, Anders Lee, and Mathew Barzal have scored 16 goals and 32 assists to lead the top two lines but the rest of the offense has also looked great. Kyle Palmieri, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Zach Parise have scored 14 goals and 10 assists while defenseman Noah Dobson has added four goals and six assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has been great but the defense has carried the Islanders, allowing only 2.56 goals per game including only five goals in the last two games. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have combined for 2.4 defensive point shares and 54 blocked shots while Scott Mayfield, Alexander Romanov, and Noah Dobson have combined for 2.4 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. Moreover, goaltender Ilya Sorokin has been great in the net with a .932 save perc entage and a 2.17 goals-against average on 355 shots.