November 17, 2011
Thursday
7:00 pm EST
Montreal Canadiens' Tomas Plekanec, who leads the Canadiens with 12 assists to go with four goals, has a goal in five consecutive games against the Islanders and a point in eight straight. Montreal Canadiens is 12-1-4 in its last 17 meetings with New York, but the Islanders won the final two last season, including 4-1 at Nassau Coliseum on Dec. 26. Montreal Canadiens' Carey Price has allowed four goals in each game while splitting his previous two starts on Long Island, he could be in net for this back-to-back scenario after posting his 13th career shutout. Montreal Canadiens have done well while killing off all 18 of their opponents’ power plays over the last five games. The Hurricanes went 0 for 6 on Wednesday.
New York Islanders' Evgeni Nabokov could make a third consecutive start after he made 26 saves against the Rangers. The veteran netminder is 5-2-0 with a 2.87 goals-against average versus Montreal. NY Islanders' John Tavares had two goals and an assist in four games against the Canadiens in 2010-11, although he was a minus-5. He had an assist Tuesday, giving him 11 points - seven goals - in nine home games. NY Islanders' Frans Nielsen had a goal with an assist for the Eastern Conference-worst Islanders, who have been outscored 18-8 over the last four games, including 9-1 in the third period during that stretch.