Game 32 Preview: Ottawa Senators @ New York Islanders

The Ottawa Senators take on the New York Islanders tonight on the second of a back-to-back following their 3-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils last night in Kanata. The Islanders did not play last night, so they will be well-rested and waiting for the Sens. The Isles have had a rough go of it this season (to say the least) but playing on back-to-back nights, on the road, against a rested team is never easy.

Here are the lines and pairings for tonight:

Dzingel - Turris - Ryan
Smith - Brassard - Stone
Pyatt - Pageau - Lazar
Bailey - Kelly - Neil

Methot - Karlsson
Phaneuf - Ceci
Borowiecki - Wideman

Hammond (starter)
Condon

Some notes for tonight:

• Andrew Hammond gets the start after Mike Condon was solid in the win last night. Hard to believe it's been this long, but it's Hammond's first start since October 28th.
• The Islanders are going with Jean-Francois Berube for the second straight game after he posted 34 saves in a 3-2 overtime defeat to the Buffalo Sabres. The Islanders have been (curiously) carrying 3 goalies this season -- Jaroslav Halak will back up Berube while Thomas Greiss is a healthy scratch.
• The Isles are a cautionary tale in the fleeting nature of success in today's NHL. 18 months ago, the franchise was undoubtedly on the rise: they had just traded for Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy, John Tavares was a potential MVP candidate and play-off hockey was returning to Long Island. Today, the team is stuck at the bottom of a hugely competitive Metropolitan Division and the future doesn't look nearly so bright. How quick the rise, how speedy the fall.
• The Sens desperately needed last night's win given the outrageous pace being set for the two wild cards in the Eastern Conference. At this rate, they will need to hang on to one of the top three spots in the division because it seems like the other two births are going to the other division.
• Zack Smith took full advantage of his opportunity to play alongside Derick Brassard and Mark Stone last night by notching a goal and an assist. Smith doesn't look poised to repeat his goal-scoring outburst of last year, but his play on the left wing has been a great improvement on his struggles the last few years at centre

Here are some stats for the two teams tonight. All stats are from NHL.com except Corsi and Fenwick are from www.corsica.hockey