Game Preview: Islanders at Stars

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8-5-2) AT DALLAS STARS (8-7-0)
8:30 P.M. AMERICAN AIRLINES CENTER
TV: MSG+, MSG GO
RADIO: 88.7FM - WRHU, AM970 - THE ANSWER, 103.9FM LI NEWS
GAME NOTES
The Islanders kick off a back-to-back weekend set in Dallas on Friday night, the first of two meetings with the Stars this season.
The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 OT loss to the Edmonton Oilers, but Head Coach Doug Weight liked his team's defensive effort and the team felt they were stymied by a hot goaltender.
Prior to Tuesday's loss, the Islanders offensive had scored three or more goals in eight straight games. The Islanders are the NHL's third highest scoring team, averaging 3.60 goals-per-game.

QUINE MAKES DEBUT, KULEMIN TO IR, HALAK IN GOAL:

Alan Quine is expected to make his season debut on Friday night after missing the start of the season with an upper-body injury. Quine is expected to center the Islanders third line with Andrew Ladd and Anthony Beauvillier.
Nikolay Kulemin is out for Friday's game after suffering an upper-body injury on Tuesday vs Edmonton.
With Quine in and Kulemin out, Head Coach Doug Weight shook up his lines at Thursday's practice.
Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Islanders on Friday. Weight is going with the same defensemen from Tuesday's game.
ISLANDERS PROJECTED LINES:
| FORWARDS | | --- | | LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING | | ANDERS LEE | JOHN TAVARES | JOSH BAILEY | | BROCK NELSON | MATHEW BARZAL | JORDAN EBERLE | | ANDREW LADD | ALAN QUINE | ANTHONY BEAUVILLIER | | JASON CHIMERA | CASEY CIZIKAS | CAL CLUTTERBUCK |

| DEFENSE | | --- | | NICK LEDDY | JOHNNY BOYCHUK | | CALVIN DE HAAN | SCOTT MAYFIELD | | THOMAS HICKEY | RYAN PULOCK |

BY THE NUMBERS:

6-1-1 - Islanders record in the last eight games against Dallas. The Islanders won both of their meetings against the Stars last season. The Islanders were 2-0-0 against the Stars last season.
6 - Game point streak for Mathew Barzal.The Islanders rookie has 11 points (2G, 9A) in his last six games.
31.8% - Dallas Stars power play.The Stars boast the NHL's top power play.

THE OPPOSITION:

After a 4-1 loss to Winnipeg in their last game, Dallas is expected to juggle their lines for Friday's game. That includes splitting up Dallas' dynamic duo of Jamie Benn and Tyler Seguin, as Head Coach Ken Hitchcock wants to see more depth down the middle. Benn, Seguin and defenseman John Klingberg are tied for Dallas' scoring lead with 15 points apiece.
Ben Bishop will start in goal for the Stars on Friday. Bishop was acquired by the Stars over the summer to address the team's goaltending issues. Last season the Stars had the NHL's 30th-ranked team save percentage (.893).
Bishop is 6-4-0 this season with a 2.71 goals against average and a .911 save percentage.
Defenseman Marc Methot has missed two straight practices with a lower-body injury and could be out on Friday night, while Radek Faksa, Tyler Pitlick and Brett Ritchie are all game-time decisions.
The Stars are have been hot at home, winning five of their last six home games.
The Stars boast the league's top power play (31.8%) and the fourth-ranked penalty kill (86.5%).
STARS PROJECTED LINES:
| FORWARDS | | --- | | LEFT WING | CENTER | RIGHT WING | | GEMEL SMTIH | JAMIE BENN | ALEXANDER RADULOV | | MATTIAS JANMARK | TYLER SEGUIN | DEVIN SHORE | | REMI ELIE | MARTIN HANZAL | JASON SPEZZA | | ANTOINE ROUSSEL | RADEK FAKSA | BRETT RITCHIE |

| DEFENSE | | --- | | ESA LINDELL | JOHN KLINGBERG | | JAMIE OLEKSIAK | STEPHEN JOHNS | | DAN HAMHUIS | GREG PATERYN |