Coming off a strange win against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, the Senators were looking to get on a roll with Craig Anderson back in the net after returning from time with his family.
Although the Islanders got off to an abysmal start to the 2016-17 season, they had been much better of late, going 7-1-2 since Doug Weight had taken over as head coach. New York was 8th in points percentage in the East heading into the matchup, so it wasn’t like Ottawa was facing a cellar dweller anymore.