Preview: Avalanche at Islanders

AVALANCHE (15-35-2) at ISLANDERS (24-19-10)
6 p.m. ET; MSG+, ALT, NHL.TV

Avalanche team scope

Colorado Avalanche defenseman Tyson Barrie is "probable" to return, according to coach Jared Bednar, after missing the past four games because of a lower-body injury. "He's still working to get back here in the lineup," Bednar said after a 4-2 loss at the New York Rangers on Saturday. "He skated again [Saturday] and he worked out again [Saturday]. I think that if we get the OK from him in the morning, he should be in the lineup [Sunday]." Colorado will be looking to avoid a three-game losing streak; the Avalanche have been outscored 8-3 in the past two games and are 2-7-1 in their past 10. "It's been hard," captain Gabriel Landeskog said. "You try to find ways to stay positive and try to find a way to look at things with a fresh point of view and try not to get too down on yourself. It really just comes down to working hard and trying to lead the way that way, but it's frustrating when we keep doing this to ourselves."

Islanders team scope

J-F Berube will start in goal for the New York Islanders, who can move within one point of the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a win. The Islanders return home for their second game in as many nights following a 3-0 loss at the Ottawa Senators on Saturday. Berube struggled in his previous start (his second in the past 18 games) when he allowed five goals on 25 shots in a 5-4 overtime loss against the Carolina Hurricanes on Feb. 4. He'll need more from his offense than what it provided Saturday, when the Islanders were shut out for the second time this season. "You can't take any team for granted," captain John Tavares told Newsday. "Colorado have certainly had their troubles this year, but they're an explosive team and have got some guys that can really skate and make some plays and that can burn you if you're not playing disciplined hockey and playing hard. Playing in our building, we want to take advantage of being at home and we'll turn our focus to [Sunday]."

Avalanche projected lineup
Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Mikhail Grigorenko -- Matt Duchene -- Matt Nieto
Blake Comeau -- John Mitchell -- Jarome Iginla
Carl Soderberg -- Joe Colborne -- Andreas Martinsen
Francois Beauchemin -- Tyson Barrie
Mark Barberio -- Nikita Zadorov
Fedor Tyutin -- Cody Goloubef
Calvin Pickard
Jeremy Smith
Scratched: Patrick Wiercioch
Injured:Rene Bourque (head), Erik Johnson (broken fibula), Semyon Varlamov (hip surgery)
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Shane Prince -- Brock Nelson -- Ryan Strome
Andrew Ladd -- Anthony Beauvillier -- Jason Chimera
Nikolay Kulemin -- Casey Cizikas -- Stephen Gionta
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan -- Dennis Seidenberg
Thomas Hickey -- Adam Pelech
Jean-Francois Berube
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Scott Mayfield, Alan Quine
Injured:Travis Hamonic (lower body), Cal Clutterbuck (lower body)
Status report
With the Avalanche and Islanders each playing Saturday, neither scheduled a morning skate for Sunday. … Islanders coach Doug Weight said Clutterbuck skated Sunday morning and "felt good." He will not play.

Who's hot

Landeskog has scored goals in back-to-back games and has a four-game point streak (two goals, three assists). … MacKinnon has one goal and four assists during a four-game point streak.