The New York Islanders have derailed the obvious Price-versus-Halak narrative by opting to start backup Chad Johnson tonight against the Canadiens.
Johnson is 5-4-0 with a .868 save percentage for the Islanders this season after playing for the Boston Bruins last season.
The Islanders are tied for the most wins in the NHL thanks in large part to Jaroslav Halak's stellar efforts between the pipes.
Former teammate Carey Price has also been superb for the Montreal Canadiens.
Halak, had he been slated to start, would be trying to improve to 5-0-0 against his former team as these Eastern Conference powerhouses meet Tuesday night in Long Island.
The Canadiens are opening a season-high five-game road trip after outscoring opponents 18-7 during a 4-1-0 homestand. Alex Galchenyuk scored his fourth goal in three games and Max Pacioretty added two assists in Saturday's 4-1 victory over Ottawa.
"That was big for us," forward Brendan Gallagher said. "When we started that home stretch things weren't going great for us, so it was good to be able to turn it around here, get some wins and get our confidence back.
"Now we go on the road and we know what style of hockey we have to play."
Montreal is averaging 3.3 goals at home but has been limited to 1.8 on the road for the NHL's second-worst mark. The Canadiens are trying to avoid their first four-game road skid since losing seven straight to close the 2011-12 season.
Pacioretty leads the team with 27 points, only four of which have come in 16 road games. He's notched five goals and eight points in seven on the road against the Islanders.
Price stopped 21 shots during Montreal's last visit to New York, a 1-0 overtime victory Dec. 14, 2013.
Halak has proven to be a bargain since signing a four-year, $18 million deal with New York (23-10-0) in May. He has gone 15-2-0 with three shutouts and a 1.78 goals-against average in his last 17 games, the NHL's lowest mark among all 30 goaltenders with at least 10 starts since Nov. 5.
Price has been nearly as good with a 1.84 GAA during that time, going 11-6-0 with two shutouts. The two goalies spent three seasons together in Montreal from 2007-10, and Halak has posted a 0.98 GAA in winning all four showdowns since getting traded away.
The Islanders are just behind Pittsburgh for the Metropolitan Division lead, while the Canadiens (21-11-2) are tied with Tampa Bay atop the Atlantic. Price had posted a 1.32 GAA over a three-game winning streak against New York before losing 2-0 at home April 10.
The Islanders are seeking their third five-game winning streak of the season after storming back to beat the Lightning 3-1 on Saturday. Halak let in the game's first goal midway through the third period before John Tavares and Anders Lee scored 12 seconds apart with roughly three minutes remaining.
"This is how you have to play to win in this league," said Kyle Okposo, tied with Tavares for the team lead with 28 points. "We have a pretty good squad, and we're going to keep working."
Nikolay Kulemin's empty-netter sealed the victory with 1:11 to go as the Islanders improved to 13-3-0 at home. New York has surrendered two or fewer goals in all but one of its last 11 games there, going 10-1-0.
"Every game, every win is a new standard for us," defenseman Travis Hamonic told the team's official website. "We know we can keep getting better. I know it's still early, there's a long way to go and we understand that, but we're starting to put a pretty good foundation here to make a hard push for the second half of the year."
Okposo has been limited to four points in 15 games against the Canadiens.
-With a file from The Associated Press
