Montreal Canadiens (7-1-1) at New York Islanders (2-6-1)
7 p.m. | Nassau Coliseum | MSG+
Next week on Lighthouse Hockey: With the Islanders debuting a retro '70s/'80s-era uniform tonight, it begs the question why this more traditional style couldn't have been achieved when the silly RBK ("Vowels not included") template first came out for all 30 teams. [Remember the excuses about R(ee)B(o)K's design not allowing for this such hem line, or that such shoulder panel?] Check this space soon for a team-by-team review -- after a year to digest the designs -- of how the RBK Invasion has messed with each club's on-ice identity.
A funny thing about the Canadiens' is that their power play -- which converted at a ridiculous 24.1% last year -- misses Mark Streit so far, but the team itself is winning games just fine, thanks, despite its 17% PP conversion rate (18th in the NHL). Then again, the Isles PP sits at 28th (12.8%) despite Streit's much-needed help.
Former Islander Roman Hamrlik is eating up some of Streit's vacated PP time (about 2:00/game) -- but none of the points -- and is second on the team in overall ice time with almost 22 minutes per game. The Alex Tanguay Experiment appears to be working: He leads the Canadiens with 6 goals and 11 points.
Beside Streit -- who of course isn't really after vengeance -- another former Hab looking to leave a mark tonight will be none other than Yann Danis, who gets his first start in the Islander goal tonight. Greg Logan has a nice piece on why 27-year-old Danis (who was surpassed and buried in the Canadiens system) came to the Isles: It implies -- but doesn't directly quote -- Danis acknowledging that Rick DiPietro's surgeries and injury history spelled O-P-P-O-R-T-U-N-I-T-Y.
I've got a wedding tonight -- every Saturday this month, in fact -- so I won't be liveblogging. But I'll catch up on DVR and review as soon as possible [hiccup ... Speech!].