Game preview and how to watch

Game 58: Montreal Canadiens vs. New York Islanders

Start time: 7:00 PM EST / 4:00 PM PST
In the Canadiens region: TSN2 (English), RDS (French)
In the Islanders region: MSGSN
Streaming: ESPN+, RDS, TSN+

The NHL season was on hiatus for three weeks as the Olympics took place in Milan, so, as you get with television shows that go on break, a “previously on” recap is required. The last time we saw the Montreal Canadiens in action, they were in Winnipeg wrapping up a three-game road trip. Samuel Montembeault claimed the win that night thanks to five unanswered goals from the Habs after going down 1-0 early, extending Montreal’s point streak to five games. With the other three wins in that sequence coming versus the Colorado Avalanche, Vegas Golden Knights, and Buffalo Sabres, the Canadiens were beating some top teams during one of the toughest stretches of the season, and currently sit second in the Eastern Conference with the same 72 points as the Sabres and Detroit Red Wings, but with one less game played.

It’s just a short return to Montreal for Olympians Oliver Kapanen, Juraj Slafkovský, Nick Suzuki, and Alexandre Texier. The Canadiens with finish the month of February with two home games before heading out on the trip through California. Before they play the first game of the season versus the San Jose Sharks and Anaheim Ducks next week, they’ll kick of this mini homestand with the first of three games versus the New York Islanders.

This season series awarded nine total points a year ago as the Islanders claimed a shootout and overtime win and the Canadiens got two points in the extra three-on-three period in the middle contest. Montreal has claimed points the last six times it’s faced the club from Long Island. The games between these teams have been close the past few years, and considering that each team has already amassed 32 wins in 2025-26, this year’s three-game set will likely be no different.

Tale of the Tape

The Islanders weren’t quite as consistent as Montreal leading into the Olympic break, but they did end with a big win versus the Pittsburgh Penguins that reduced the gap between the two teams to one point in the battle for second spot in the Metropolitan Division. With news that Sidney Crosby will miss four weeks with a lower-body injury sustained in Milan, the Isles have an opportunity to leapfrog their rival and at the very least have home-ice advantage if this proves to be an opening-round matchup. The Washington Capitals (who beat the Islanders in one of the last games before the pause) and the surging Columbus Blue Jackets (the Islanders’ next opponent) still have plenty to say in that race, however.

It’s an odd schedule for New York, which is playing a lot of games on the road at the moment. They’ve only played seven home games in 2026, while tonight will be their 12th in another team’s building. They are set to travel to California at the same time as Montreal, and the end totals will be eight games at their home UBS Arena and 17 on the road in the opening 10 weeks of the calendar year. But that does allow them to finish the season at home for nine of the final 11 games, where they can can use that advantage to either pull away or make up ground in the playoff race.

The Islanders are getting a major boost from the play of rookie defenceman Matthew Schaefer after selecting him first overall in the 2025 NHL Draft. He has 39 points on the campaign and won’t turn 19 until after the opening round of the post-season. This will be the first head-to-head meeting between him and Ivan Demidov in the Calder Trophy competition. Schaefer’s point total currently has him ranked third on the Islanders’ scoring list, while Demidov’s 46 slot him fourth for the Canadiens. The fact that Schaefer is doing this at a year younger and as a defenceman has him leading, and he also holds the edge in goals at 16 to 12, so he seems well on his way to claiming the award. It would take an exceptional final third from Demidov to change that order, but we can’t rule out a big finish with linemate Slafkovský playing the best he ever has and Demidov himself enjoying a long rest before tackling the final 25 games.

Every forward in the lineup will get a boost with the return of Alex Newhook, set to return tonight after missing three-and-a-half months. He was playing great to begin the season with 12 points in 16 games, a 62-point pace, before sustaining a fractured ankle early in his 17th contest. Slafkovský may have taken his old line with Demidov and Kapanen to new heights, but Newhook adding his speed to Jake Evans’s on the third line will give opponents one more offensive outlet to think about, and that will open things up for the top six. Already with the league’s third-best offence, the Habs will get a big roster addition for this final push to claim a seed in the Atlantic Division.