Morning Skate Updates: Islanders at Bruins

The New York Islanders take on the Boston Bruins on Thursday night at TD Garden at 8 p.m. Watch the game on MSG+, MSG GO, or SN360, SNE, SNO and SNP in Canada. Listen live on 88.7FM WRHU, 103.9FM LI News or online at RADIO.COM. Read the game preview. Check the game notes.

Leo Komarov and Tom Kuhnhackl, were both impressed by their linemate's milestone. Filppula currently has the most games played of any player on the Isles roster.
"It's a good number and hopefully he'll still play way longer. He's been in the league and he's a professional at everything he does," Komarov said. "It's just the way he takes care of himself for hockey. He lives for hockey. He works out a lot and stuff like that. Obviously he's not the fastest player in the world out there, but he's still really skillful and makes good plays with the puck."

RELATED: FIL THE THRILL
Filppula, who has 16 points (7G, 9A) in 23 games this season, said luck plays a role in longevity, as he hasn't had to miss significant time due to injuries, but he hopes that this isn't his last milestone. Filppula, who won a Stanley Cup with Detroit in 2009, is 100 games away from getting a silver stick for 1,000 career games.
"For everybody, this is something they've wanted to do for a long time growing up it's been a dream and having a chance to stay here for a while, it's something I'm proud of," Filppula said.
Here's the breakdown of Filppula's 899 games so far:
Detroit (2005-13): 483GP, 100G, 151A, 251PTampa Bay (2013-17): 292GP, 52G, 119A, 171PPhiladelphia (2017-18): 101GP, 16G, 25A, 41PIslanders (2018-19): 23G, 7G, 9A, 16P

CIZIKAS READY TO RETURN:

Barry Trotz did not official announce his lineup for Thursday's game against Boston, but did deem Casey Cizikas good to go after being activated off IR on Wednesday. Cizikas had missed six games with a lower-body injury.

RASK TO START FOR BRUINS:

Tuukka Rask will start in goal on Thursday night. Rask is 5-4-2 this season with a 2.72 GAA and .913 SV%.
Rask's start means the Islanders will not face off against Jaroslav Halak, who is in Boston after playing four seasons with the Isles. Halak played 177 games with the Isles, going 88-65-19. Halak set the Isles single-season wins record (38) in 2014-15 and was selected to the all-star game that season.
"Every single day in practice, every single game he brought his A game and he wanted to be the best out there," Cizikas said of Halak. "He brought that attitude with him. When he first came he was a big part of this team and it was a big step in the right direction for us, so I'm happy to see that he's getting a chance here and playing well."

BRUINS PROJECTED LINES:

Brad Marchand - Colby Cave - David Pastrnak
Danton Heinen - David Krejci - Jake DeBrusk
Ryan Donato - Joakim Nordstrom - Noel Acciari
Chris Wagner - Sean Kuraly - David Backes
Torey Krug - Connor Clifton
Steven Kampfer - John Moore
Jeremy Lauzon - Matt Grzelcyk
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
*
projected lines courtesy of nhl.com/bruins