Grabner, de Haan out for Islanders vs. Blue Jackets

COLUMBUS – New York Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan (lower body) and forward Michael Grabner (upper body) will each miss the game Sunday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

De Haan and Grabner were hurt during a 4-3 shootout loss to the Washington Capitals on Saturday, prompting the recalls of defenseman Scott Mayfield and forward Johan Sundstrom from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League.

Grabner was playing in his first game since sustaining a concussion March 10 against the Vancouver Canucks and had to leave in the second period. The Islanders (31-35-11) are also without injured players including John Tavares, Eric Boulton and Kyle Okposo, but are 5-0-2 in the past seven games.

Sundstrom has one assist in nine games. Mayfield, a 6-foot-4, 209-pound native of St. Louis, was chosen by the Islanders in the second round of the 2011 NHL Draft and will make his debut. The 21-year-old had 17 points (three goals, 14 assists) and 125 penalty minutes in 69 games this season for Bridgeport.

"Although he does play physical and moves the puck, he has confidence and instincts, and likes to move up in the play," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "He's been playing really well. For us, it's an opportunity to see another guy we can take a look at."

Backup goalie Anders Nilsson (6-5-2, 3.17) will start for the Islanders.

Columbus (39-31-7) will make no changes from a 4-3 loss Friday to the Chicago Blackhawks when the winning goal was scored with 3.9 seconds left in regulation.

"It feels less of a blow when you're blown out, you're not even in it," Columbus center Derek MacKenzie said. "Sometimes those losses with three seconds left are the worst, but if you look back and think about it, we played a great 60 minutes of hockey against a championship team but fell short."

The Blue Jackets hold the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs by a point over the New Jersey Devils and Toronto Maple Leafs, and are two ahead of the Washington Capitals. They are also three back of the Detroit Red Wings for the first wild card but two points behind the Philadelphia Flyers for third place in the Metropolitan Division and an automatic qualifier.

Columbus has five games left, including the home finale Tuesday against the Phoenix Coyotes before ending with three on the road. The Blue Jackets are 1-4-2 in the past seven home games.

"Guys are conscious of how we've been doing at home," Columbus center Mark Letestu said. "We want to finish strong and go on the road with some momentum, and hopefully secure that playoff spot before the last night."

Here the projected lineups for the Islanders and Blue Jackets:

ISLANDERS

Anders Lee - Frans Nielsen - Josh Bailey

Johan Sundstrom - Brock Nelson - Cal Clutterbuck

Matt Martin - Ryan Strome - Colin McDonald

Mike Halmo - Casey Cizikas - John Persson

Scott Mayfield - Travis Hamonic

Thomas Hickey - Kevin Czuczman

Matt Donovan - Matt Carkner

Anders Nilsson

Evgeni Nabokov

Scratches: Radek Martinek

Injuries: Calvin de Haan (lower body), Michael Grabner (upper body), Kyle Okposo (lower body), Eric Boulton (hand), Brian Strait (hand), John Tavares (knee), Lubomir Visnovsky (upper body).

BLUE JACKETS

Boone Jenner - Ryan Johansen - Matt Frattin

Brandon Dubinsky - Artem Anisimov - Cam Atkinson

Matt Calvert - Mark Letestu - Blake Comeau

RJ Umberger - Derek MacKenzie - Jared Boll

James Wisniewski - Fedor Tyutin

Jack Johnson – Dalton Prout

Ryan Murray - David Savard

Sergei Bobrovsky

Curtis McElhinney

Scratched: Corey Tropp, Tim Erixon

Injured: Nathan Horton (lower body), Nikita Nikitin (lower body), Nick Foligno (lower body)