Red Wings at Islanders preview
Detroit seeks third victory in four games; New York 4-5-2 in past 11
by Brian Compton @BComptonNHL / NHL.com Deputy Managing Editor
RED WINGS (12-31-3) at ISLANDERS (27-13-4)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, FS-D, NHL.TV
The Game
The New York Islanders will try to get their offense on track when they open a three-game homestand against the Detroit Red Wings at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday.
The Islanders, winless in their past two games (0-1-1) and 4-5-2 in their past 11 games, have scored two goals or fewer in five of their past six games, including a 6-2 loss at the New York Rangers on Monday.
The Red Wings are last in the NHL standings with 27 points but are 2-1-0 in their past three games after going 1-8-0 in their previous nine.
Players to watch
Red Wings center Dylan Larkin has six points (two goals, four assists) in a six-game point streak. His next goal will be his 100th in the NHL.
Islanders forward Jordan Eberle has three points (two goals, one assist) in his past three games and is two points shy of 500 in the NHL.
They said it
"We can't spend one minute thinking about it. We've got to try to win a hockey game with the guys we have available to us. We've got a good enough group available to us to go win a game, so let's go do that." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill on playing with injuries
"Let's not be fooled; they have some pretty good players over there. I know their record doesn't indicate that, but they can score goals and we need to be ready for them. Most importantly, we've just got to play our game and get back to what we do best." -- Islanders forward Matt Martin
Red Wings projected lineup
Tyler Bertuzzi -- Dylan Larkin -- Robby Fabbri
Filip Zadina -- Valtteri Filppula -- Adam Erne
Darren Helm -- Frans Nielsen -- Luke Glendening
Justin Abdelkader -- Christoffer Ehn -- Givani Smith
Patrik Nemeth -- Mike Green
Madison Bowey -- Filip Hronek
Brian Lashoff -- Alex Biega
Jimmy Howard
Scratched: Brendan Perlini
Injured: Andreas Athanasiou (lower body), Anthony Mantha (upper body), Danny DeKeyser (back), Jonathan Ericsson (face), Trevor Daley (lower body), Jonathan Bernier (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Jordan Eberle
Michael Dal Colle -- Derick Brassard -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Matt Martin -- Leo Komarov -- Ross Johnston
Nick Leddy -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Noah Dobson -- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Greiss
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Sebastian Aho, Otto Koivula
Injured: Casey Cizikas (lower body), Cal Clutterbuck (wrist), Adam Pelech (Achilles)
Status report
The Red Wings held an optional skate. … Nielsen and Nemeth each had a maintenance day Monday but is expected to play, along with Larkin (tweak), who did not practice. … Bernier, the goalie injured during 3-2 shootout win against the Ottawa Senators on Friday, is expected to be out until after the All-Star break (Jan. 24-26), Blashill said. … Cizikas, injured blocking a shot in a 3-2 overtime loss against the Boston Bruins on Saturday, will miss his second straight game. "I don't think he's too long-term," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said of the center.
Stat pack
The Red Wings are 0-10-0 against the Metropolitan Division. … Barzal has 12 points (one goal, 11 assists) in seven games against Detroit.