Projected lineups for Hurricanes, Isles

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders look to renew their playoff push against the Carolina Hurricanes tonight as the teams meet at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum.

The Islanders (24-25-8) are returning home after splitting a pair of road games this week. New York suffered a 5-1 loss at St. Louis on Thursday night after earning a 3-1 victory in Winnipeg on Tuesday. The Isles enter today's action eight points behind the Toronto Maple Leafs for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

Carolina (22-25-11) is coming off a 3-2 victory against the San Jose Sharks at the RBC Center last night to move within a point of the Islanders in the standings. The Hurricanes have earned at least one point in 14 of their last 15 games against New York (10-1-4).

Here are the expected lines tonight for each club:

HURRICANES
Jiri Tlusty - Eric Staal - Jerome Samson
Jeff Skinner - Jussi Jokinen - Drayson Bowman
Andreas Nodl - Brandon Sutter - Patrick Dwyer
Derek Joslin - Tim Brent - Anthony Stewart

Tim Gleason - Bryan Allen
Jay Harrison - Justin Faulk
Jaroslav Spacek - Jamie McBain

Cam Ward gets the start in goal. He is 14-3-3 with a 2.26 goals-against average in 21 career appearances against the Islanders. Justin Peters will be the backup.

Chad LaRose is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. The Hurricanes will also be without Tuomo Ruutu (upper body), Joni Pitkanen (concussion) and Brian Boucher (lower body).

ISLANDERS
Matt Moulson - John Tavares - Kyle Okposo
Michael Grabner - Frans Nielsen - PA Parenteau
Matt Martin - Josh Bailey - Brian Rolston
Jay Pandolfo - Marty Reasoner - Nino Niederreiter

Mark Streit - Steve Staios
Andrew MacDonald - Milan Jurcina
Mark Eaton - Aaron Ness

Kevin Poulin, who was recalled from AHL Bridgeport on an emergency basis Friday, gets the start for the Islanders tonight. Al Montoya will serve as the backup, while Evgeni Nabokov continues to recover from the flu.

"It's good," said Poulin, who made 21 saves for the Isles in a 5-2 win at Carolina on Jan. 31. "I was supposed to play at Bridgeport (tonight), but now I'm playing here. This way, I don't have to change anything."

Rick DiPietro (lower body), Mike Mottau (concussion) and Dylan Reese (leg) are out for New York. Tim Wallace and Ty Wishart will be healthy scratches.

Follow Brian Compton on Twitter: @BComptonNHL

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