The Islanders trail the Carolina Hurricanes by one point for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Flames, coming off a 4-3 loss to the New York Rangers on Friday, have two more stops on this six-game road trip following tonight; they play Boston on Tuesday and are in Nashville on Thursday.
Players to watch
Flames forward Johnny Gaudreau has three goals and five assists during a five-game point streak. Islanders forward Brock Nelson has seven points (four goals, three assists) during a four-game point streak. He had a hat trick in a 7-6 overtime win against the Detroit Red Wings on Friday.
They said it
"The message is we've got a team that we're playing tonight that scores at a very high rate and needs points as desperately as we do. We've got to be good defensively and we've got to be as desperate as they are. Both teams are fighting for their lives here and we're both kind of in the same spots in our respective conferences. I think it's going to be a real tough game." -- Flames coach Glen Gulutzan "It'll definitely be weird. I'll give him a couple of extra slashes and I'll meet him in front of the net, I'm sure. It'll be good to see 'Hammer' and catch up with him and see how he's doing. It's been a little bit. It'll be a fun game." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee on Flames defenseman Travis Hamonic
Gulutzan said there may be a lineup change but it won't be decided until closer to game time. … Halak will start after relieving Thomas Greiss midway through the third period Friday.
Stat pack
New York has won three straight home games against Calgary. … The Flames are 6-2-2 in their past 10 road games. … Bailey and Leddy also have four-game point streaks. … The Islanders haven't won consecutive games since a three-game streak from Jan. 7-15.
