New York Islanders at Montréal Canadiens: game preview
NY IslandersIslanders2026-27: 1-2-0 · 2 pts · 2025-26: 43-34-5 · 91 pts · 19that
MontréalCanadiens2026-27: 1-1-1 · 3 pts · 2025-26: 48-24-10 · 106 pts · 6thFifteen points apart last season
NY Islanders finished last season 19th in the league on 91 points. Montréal finished 6th on 106.
Game-day prices arrive with the afternoon snapshot, about 4:30 PM ET on the day of the game.
Meeting number 213
Across 212 completed games, Montréal lead the head-to-head 123-71-18.
Last 5 meetings
See all: Last 5 meetings →The table on each 2025-26 meeting night
League rank after that night's games; a longer bar is a higher place. On 26 Feb 2026, NY Islanders were 13th in the league and Montréal 9th. By 12 Apr 2026 it was 16th and 5th.
NY Islanders out-attempted Montréal 179 to 172
Every attempt from the last meetings, both teams shooting right.
New York Islanders
Montréal Canadiens
NY Islanders and Montréal are level on chances, last 10 games
Shot quality both ways: expected goals weigh every unblocked attempt by its chance of scoring. Finishing above zero means more goals than the chances.
This season: 3 games for NY Islanders, 3 for Montréal. Small sample: early-season xG moves a lot from night to night.
Last 10 games: 10 games for NY Islanders, 10 for Montréal.
2025-26: 82 games for NY Islanders, 82 for Montréal.
Power play and penalty kill, season and series
This season's rates first, then 2025-26 and the last meetings between the two. Power-play chances are counted from the penalty log with coincidental minors cancelled; faceoffs are each club's wins over draws taken.
All bars share one scale · 0–100%SeasonLast meetings
NY Islanders
Small sampleMontréal
Small sampleSkaters to watch
Each club's top three forwards and defencemen by points this season, with 2025-26 one tap away.
Who has stopped this matchup
Save percentage in the last meetings by goalie. Starters are confirmed on game day.
Expected starter after their game on 18 Feb: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
Expected starter after their game on 18 Feb: a back-to-back depends on who plays that night.
NY Islanders crease
NYI · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 17 Feb
No appearances against Montréal in the last meetings.
Montréal crease
MTL · 2026-27 Starter estimate from 17 Feb
No appearances against NY Islanders in the last meetings.
Scoring rates point to about 6.3 goals
No total is posted yet: it arrives with the game-day prices. Until then, the scoring rates and the recent meetings set the range.
Goals in the last 5 meetings
Bar length is total goals, coloured by the winner.
Scoring rates
NY Islanders3.002.332.842.94
Montréal4.004.673.453.12Goals for and against per game. The estimate averages each team’s scoring with the other’s goals allowed, and leans on 2025-26 until a team has played 20 games.
7 on the injury lists
NY Islanders · injuries
Montréal · injuries
Latest moves
See all: Latest moves →Agreed to terms with LD Logan Stanley on a 1-Year contract worth $1.5M. Placed G Vitek Vanecek on waivers with the intention of sending to Hamilton (AHL)
Waived Fs Tanner Fritz, Matt Luff and Nathan Chaffee. Waived Fs Dylan Foudy and Hudson Kuefler for the purpose of sending to Hamilton (AHL).
Signed F Alex Jefferies to a one-year contract.
Placed D Reilly Walsh, D Maksymilian Szuber, D Ethan Samson, C Sam Poulin, RW Sasha Pastujov, C Hunter McKown, G Kaapo Kähkönen, LW Brett Berard, and RW Alex Belzile on waivers for the purpose of loaning them to Laval (AHL).
Signed F Chris Kreider to a one-year contract.
Loaned F Vinzenz Rohrer to EV Zug (Switzerland).
NY Islanders · 2026 draft
See all: NY Islanders · 2026 draft →Montréal · 2026 draft
See all: Montréal · 2026 draft →
Updated after every final