Morning Skate Updates: Islanders vs. Sharks

The New York Islanders are set to face off against the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday night at 7 p.m. (MSG+, WNYM AM 970, 88.7 WRHU, WRCN 103.9 FM).
The Islanders held morning skate on Tuesday at Northwell Health Ice Center where Jack Capuano announced his lineup and addressed the media. Keep reading for news, notes and quotes from morning skate.

The Lineup:

Jaroslav Halak will start in goal for the Islanders and there are no changes on the blue line.
The forward corps are dependent on whether Casey Cizikas can suit up for Tuesday's game. Cizikas left Sunday's game in the third period, but skated on Tuesday morning and said he feels good enough to play if the trainers and coaching staff will let him.

UND: University of Nelson and Dell:

Sharks goalie Aaron Dell is expected to make his NHL debut on Tuesday and has a connection to Islanders center Brock Nelson, as they played two seasons together (2010-12) at the University of North Dakota.
"Deller was a great goalie back then. Obviously he made his way up through. I'm happy for him, good to see him get an opportunity. Hoping to see him and wish him the best, but hopefully get the win tonight against him."
Nelson said Dell is a good positional goalie and sound technically and that he'd have to change up his looks to fool his old teammate.

Tavares on Marc-Edouard Vlasic:

A month ago, John Tavares was playing with three San Jose Sharks, as he, Joe Thornton, Brent Burns and Marc-Edouard Vlasic all donned red and white for Team Canada at the World Cup.
Thornton is the NHL's second-leading active point scorer (1343 points) and Burns mountain-man beard and point-per-game abilities have garnered a lot of attention over the past year. Vlasic is a guy that flies under the radar for most fans, but Tavares had high praise for the steady Sharks defenseman.
"He does the simple plays probably better than anybody," Tavares said. "He just knows how to move the puck up the ice, he skates very well and he really is very good at putting forwards in a tough position to make a play. He just angles guys off so well, doesn't give guys time and space and has a great stick as well. He always seems to get his stick on puck a lot. He's got a good idea of when he can jump in the play, he picks his spots really well. Just a very heady type of player who moves well."
Like Tavares, Vlasic won an Olympic Gold medal in Sochi and the World Cup in Toronto and is not to be overlooked when scouting the Sharks.

Special Teams:

The Islanders have killed off 13-of-14 penalties this season (92.8%) while the Sharks have allowed goals on 3-of-6 (50%).
The Islanders are 1-for-9 on the power play (11.1%) while the Sharks are 3-for-12 (25%).