PREVIEW: Columbus faces another big Metro clash on Long Island

BLUE JACKETS (38-27-3) at ISLANDERS (39-22-7)Monday, 7 p.m., NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum (FOX Sports Ohio, CBJ app, FOX Sports app, 97.1 The Fan)
Two things that appeared to be missing from the Columbus Blue Jackets for a stretch after the trade deadline were energy and confidence.
But in a 4-1 win over Pittsburgh on Saturday night, Columbus had plenty of the former.
Will the latter naturally follow suit?
Head coach John Tortorella hopes so.

"Well, it's part of our problem of our inconsistency, was not playing with swagger," he said Sunday. "I think you always have to play with swagger, not be afraid to make a mistake. Take something out of last night's game and the way we approached it and play a full 60 minutes? Sure, you should feel real good about yourself, so hopefully we can bring that in."
If the Jackets feel they're a playoff team - and they say they do - they'll have to continue to prove it. Monday night's game at the Islanders is the team's third in a stretch of seven in a row against teams currently in a playoff position. Three more follow this week, with home and away games against Boston surrounding a huge Friday night home game vs. Carolina.
So maybe a little confidence isn't a bad thing, especially if it helps the Blue Jackets play the way they did Saturday night against the Penguins. Over a two-game stretch against Pittsburgh, the team took a quantum leap forward from Tuesday's listless but ultimately fruitful victory at New Jersey, battling the Penguins hard on the road Thursday before Saturday night's victory snapped an eight-game regular season losing skid against the divisional foe.
The victory moved Columbus back to the correct side of the playoff line, but there's still a premium on points. The Islanders come into the game with 85, four behind streaking Washington for the Metro lead, while Pittsburgh's win over Boston on Sunday night pushed the Penguins into third in the Metro with 83 points.
Carolina is fourth with 81, one spot ahead of Columbus with 79. The Blue Jackets are tied with Montreal, which is currently ninth in the Eastern Conference, but Columbus has the tiebreaker and a game in hand vs. the Habs.
"We have to start getting into a playoff mind-set right now," defenseman Seth Jones said. "Every game you have to get closer and clsoer to your top individual game, and that is obviously going to make the team better. Whatever your role is, do it to the best of your ability, do the little details better than the other team.
"We play some pretty good teams coming up here. We're just going to control what we can control, which is our work ethic, how we prepare, and our mind-set going into every game."
Forward Josh Anderson, who had his 100th career point Saturday to go with seven shots on goal and seven hits, agrees.
"It's massive," he said of this week's slate. "We have really no space to lose games here, so every game we're going to treat like it's a playoff game and play our hearts out."
Know the Foe
As Columbus has found out this year, it's not easy to penetrate the Islanders' defense. The Blue Jackets have played New York twice and scored a total of two goals in the games while losing both.
The main reason? The Islanders play a team defensive game that is difficult to penetrate. On the season, New York is atop the NHL in goals allowed per game, with Barry Trotz's club ceding just 2.40 per game.
"They don't give you much," Jones said. "They are a very patient team. They wait for their opportunities, and then they capitalize on them. They're not going to force anything offensively. They're going to have five guys back on their arrivals, their D-zone. They're all committed to playing slid defensively in front of their goalies, who have done a great job this year as well. We can't open ourselves up."
The Islanders are likely to be without two key cogs in their defense on Monday, though. Goaltender Robin Lehner, who leads the team with 20 wins, has been out with an upper-body injury and is not expected to play vs. Columbus. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk also missed Sunday's skate after taking a hit from Philadelphia's Jakub Voracek on Saturday and is described as very questionable by Trotz.
In net, Thomas Greiss is the next man up and is 19-11-2 in 32 starts with a 2.33 GAA and .924 save percentage. Chris Smith, who has played in parts of two games, is serving as the backup.
Up front, the Isles are 20th in the NHL with 2.85 goals per game. Second-year man Mathew Barzal is atop the team points chart with 55 on 17 goals and 38 assists, while Josh Bailey has a 14-36-50 line and Brock Nelson is at 21-23-44. Captain Anders Lee leads in goal scoring with 23 among his 43 points.
3 Keys
Stay patient: Jones said the Blue Jackets must not force the issue against the Isles, who have used teams' impatience against them before scoring on quick counterattack chances. Even if Columbus doesn't score early, it can't open itself up defensively.
Keep the energy: Columbus was buzzing from the opening whistle against Pittsburgh and must keep that going against the Isles. It's not easy to always be at 100 percent, but that's what has to happen this time of year.
Silence the crowd: The game will be held at NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum, the small but rowdy barn deep into Long Island filled with passionate fans. There will be an atmosphere in the building.
Of Note
The Blue Jackets' 20 wins and 41 points (tied) are the most through the club's first 32 road games of a campaign in club history (18-9-5, 41 points in 2016-17). The Jackets rank third in the NHL in road point percentage (.641), trailing only Tampa Bay (.750) and Toronto (.676). … Columbus improved to 15-8-1 vs. Metropolitan Division opponents with Saturday's win over Pittsburgh and is 11-4-0 in the past 15 meetings vs. division opponents. … Greiss is 7-6-3 in 17 all-time games vs. Columbus. … Columbus has scored four-plus goals in 31 of 68 games this season. … The 28 power-play goals allowed by the Jackets are the fewest in the NHL. … At 15.4 percent, the Isles' power play checks in at 26th in the NHL. … At 5-on-5, New York has scored 1.29 goals for every goal given up, the third-best mark in the league.
Blue Jackets Projected Lineup
Subject to change
Artemi Panarin - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Cam Atkinson
Ryan Dzingel - Matt Duchene - Oliver Bjorkstrand
Eric Robinson - Nick Foligno - Josh Anderson
Brandon Dubinsky - Alex Wennberg - Lukas Sedlak
Zach Werenski - Seth Jones
Markus Nutivaara - David Savard
Scott Harrington - Adam McQuaid
Sergei Bobrovsky (confirmed starter)
Joonas Korpisalo
Scratched:Riley Nash, Markus Hannikainen, Boone Jenner (illness), Dean Kukan, Keith Kinkaid
Roster Notes:Boone Jenner will not play vs. the Islanders because of illness, and Eric Robinson will enter the lineup to play on his line. Robinson will play left wing while Nick Foligno will move to center.
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