• Kyle Okposo on the Islanders last game versus the Canadiens on Friday: “We have to come out on Sunday and have a lot better first 20 minutes, I just thought we dug ourselves a hole that, we tried, we just couldn’t dig out of.”
• The Canadiens won all three games versus the Islanders in the 2014-15 season by a combined score of 12-6. The only game between these two teams this season ended in a 4-1 Montreal win.
• Both Devante Smith-Pelly (lower body), Alexei Emelin (lower body) and Torrey Mitchell (lower body) will not suit up in tonight’s game. Both Sven Andrighetto and George ‘Bud’ Holloway were both called up from St. John’s as reinforcements.
• The Islanders have scored a powerplay goal in six of their last eight games.
• The Canadiens have scored 3 or more goals in 17 of their first 21 games so far this season.
• The Canadiens place eighth in the league in goals against with 45 in 20 games. The Islanders’ defense have allowed just one fewer goal than the Canadiens, bringing them up to seventh in the NHL.
• The Canadiens in a 2 way tie with the Dallas Stars for first place in the NHL in the goals for category, with 74 over their first 21 games. The Islanders are also in the top 10 (in a five way tie for 8th), as they currently have 58 goals scored over their first 20 games in the 2015-16 season.

2015-16 statistics

• Bud Holloway is a intriguing pick heading into Sunday night’s game. If he does land on the starting roster, there is a high probability that he will at least get a chance to show his offensive abilities in a top six role. Currently leading the Ice Caps in scoring, it was just a matter of time before he was given the chance to prove himself at the NHL level. My colleague, Michael Ham-Fan, prepared a very informative article on Holloway earlier this year and I highly recommend reading it. See the link here. Of course there is a very real chance that Holloway doesn’t get into the lineup tonight (so I wouldn’t rush to add him right away), but I still recommend keeping a close eye on his situation.
• Top scorers for the Islanders on the road this season are:

1. Brock Nelson, Frans Nielsen and John Tavares (with 5 points in 8, 8 and 7 games repectively).
2. Kyle Okposo, Anders Lee and Mikhail Grabovki (all 4 points in 8 games)

• Top scorers for the Canadiens at home this season are:

1. Brendan Gallagher (11 points in 11 games)
2. David Desharnais and Max Pacioretty  (10 points in 11 games)
3.  Tomas Fleischmann and Tomas Plekanec (both with 9 points in 11 games)

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