Avalanche at Islanders preview

AVALANCHE (22-22-9) at ISLANDERS (31-16-6)
1 p.m. ET; MSG+, ALT, NHL.TV

New York is 14-3-2 in its past 19 games and 17-4-2 in its past 23, marking the first time since the 1981-82 season it has earned at least 36 points in a 23-game span.
Colorado has lost five straight games (0-4-1) and 15 of its past 18 (3-12-3), and has allowed at least four goals in nine of its past 13.

Players to watch

Avalanche center Nathan MacKinnon has 18 points (seven goals, 11 assists) in his past 17 games.
Islanders center Mathew Barzal has two goals and one assist during a three-game point streak.

They said it

"I'm sure we'll make certain adjustments on how we play certain situations. We've tried to reset as well as we can, wins or losses, no matter what. We'll do that again. " -- Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog
"When you think about the Avalanche, you think about that big line, very productive power play, and they've got very active D with guys like Barrie and Girard and Johnson on the back end, they come at you real hard. They're a talented team. You can't give them a lot of time and space. You've got to make sure that you're on the right side of pucks, you've got to make sure you manage pucks, and you've got to stay out of the penalty box." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert
Alex Kerfoot -- J.T. Compher -- Colin Wilson
Sven Andrighetto -- Sheldon Dries -- Gabriel Bourque
Ian Cole -- Erik Johnson
Nikita Zadorov -- Tyson Barrie
Patrik Nemeth -- Samuel Girard
Semyon Varlamov
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:A.J. Greer, Anton Lindholm
Injured:Vladislav Kamenev (shoulder), Mark Barberio (head)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Jordan Eberle
Michael Dal Colle -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier -- Valtteri Filppula -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Robin Lehner
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Ross Johnston, Cal Clutterbuck, Luca Sbisa
Injured:Thomas Hickey (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

Status report

The Avalanche practiced in Washington on Friday before traveling to New York. They lost 4-3 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Thursday. … Trotz said Clutterbuck, who sustained an undisclosed injury during a 2-1 shootout win at the New Jersey Devils on Thursday, was "feeling a little better" Friday. However, he was scratched in place of Kuhnhackl, who had sat out the past 14 games. … Trotz said Hickey, who practiced Friday, is "getting really close." He was injured during a 4-1 win at Colorado on Dec. 17.

Stat pack

Rantanen needs three points for 200 in the NHL. … The Islanders are 3-0-0 against the Avalanche at Barclays Center, outscoring them 16-8 in those games, and have won 10 of their past 11 home games against Colorado. … New York's penalty kill is 10-for-10 in its past four games.