Game Preview: Islanders vs Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-19-4) VS BOSTON BRUINS (25-10-8)
7 P.M. - BARCLAYS CENTER - BUY TICKETS
TV: MSG+2, MSG GO, SN360
RADIO: 88.7FM, AM 970, 103.9FM
MORNING SKATE UPDATES
After playing the second night of a back-to-back on Tuesday vs New Jersey, the New York Islanders get the benefit of being the rested squad when they take on the red hot, but travelling Boston Bruins squad on Thursday. Boston played against Montreal on Wednesday night.
The Islanders are looking to get back into the win column after dropping a 4-1 decision to the Devils on Tuesday. The Isles are currently one point out of the Eastern Conference Wild Card, a point behind Pittsburgh and the Rangers.

To win and get back into the wild card, they'll have to take down a scorching hot Bruins team that's earned points in 14 straight games (10-0-4) and remain the last Eastern team the Isles haven't beaten at Barclays Center. Boston is 4-0-0 in Brooklyn since the start of the 2015-16 season.

LINEUP NOTES:

Jaroslav Halak is in net. Josh Bailey is back in the lineup after missing four games with an injury. Alan Quine and Dennis Seidenberg are out, Tanner Fritz draws back in.
Casey Cizikas participated in the team's morning skate, but is not ready to return from an upper-body injury. Johnny Boychuk and Andrew Ladd skated before the morning skate, while Nikolay Kulemin skated afterwards. It was the second straight day on the ice for Boychuk, Cizikas, Ladd and Kulemin.
Get more injury updates and projected lines in our morning skate updates.

SEASON SERIES:

The Islanders are 0-2-0 against the Bruins this season and have lost three straight dating back to last year.
The Islanders fell to the Bruins 5-1 on January 2 at Barclays Center in their most recent meeting. Boston also took the teams lone meeting in Boston 3-1 on Dec. 9. The last time the Islanders defeated the Bruins fell on January 16, 2017 in a 4-0 win.

BY THE NUMBERS:

26 - goals for Anders Lee. Lee leads the Islanders with 26 tallies this season and is third in the NHL in goals. John Tavares is fifth with 24.
98 - shots against in the past two games. The Islanders gave up 56 shots against Montreal and 42 against New Jersey. The Islanders have given up 35 or more shots in 11 of their last 12 games.
Power Play: Islanders: 20% - 13th, Bruins: 21% - 7th
Penalty Kill:Islanders: 73.8% - 30th, Bruins: 83.1% - 9th

THE BRUINS:

Last Game: W 4-1 vs Boston
Scoring Leaders:Goals: Brad Marchand - 19
Assists: Brad Marchand - 24
Points: Brad Marchand - 43
The Boston Bruins are red-hot, bringing a 14-game point streak (10-0-4) into Thursday's season series finale with the Islanders.
The Bruins' recent run has them in second place in the Atlantic Division with 58 points and they are coming off a 4-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Thursday will be the second night of a home-and-road back-to-back for the Bruins.
Brad Marchand leads Boston with 43 points (19G, 24A) in 35 games played this season. The 29-year-old Marchand has 11 points (4G, 7A) in his last six games.
Anton Khudobin has a 9-2-4 record this season behind Tuukka Rask and could get the call between the pipes in Brooklyn, as Rask played the night before against the Canadiens.