The New York Islanders will finish their final multi-game road trip of the regular season with a game against the Montreal Canadiens at Centre Bell on Saturday, March 21. The game is scheduled for 7:00 PM and will be broadcast on MSGSN, with radio coverage available on 88.7FM, 103.9FM, and the Islanders + UBS Arena app.
This matchup comes after the Islanders’ recent 3-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators, where Matthew Schaefer and Brayden Schenn scored for New York and Ilya Sorokin made 23 saves on 26 shots. Head Coach Patrick Roy adjusted all four lines during Saturday’s morning skate in preparation for the contest.
Schaefer continues to make headlines as he became the youngest defenseman in NHL history to reach 50 career points following his goal against Ottawa. He also ranks as the seventh youngest player ever to achieve this milestone, having reached it in just 69 games. Schaefer is second on the team with 50 points this season and has recorded six points in his last seven games.
Schenn enters Saturday’s game riding a three-game point streak since joining New York, tallying four points in his first six games with the team. The Islanders currently have 83 points and are tied with Columbus Blue Jackets for third place in the Metropolitan Division but trail due to Columbus having one game in hand. They remain just outside a playoff position behind Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings.
For Montreal, Juraj Slafkovsky leads an offensive surge with an active five-game point streak and has registered eleven points over his last nine contests. His line mates Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield are also contributing significantly; Suzuki is tied for tenth in league scoring while Caufield is second on the team with forty goals this season. Defenseman Lane Hutson is close to setting an NHL record for fastest defenseman to thirty multi-assist games.
As both teams fight for playoff positioning late in the season, Saturday’s contest could prove pivotal for their postseason hopes.
