Devils at Islanders preview

DEVILS (18-21-7) at ISLANDERS (26-15-4)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV

New York has won 12 of its past 15 games and has allowed two goals or fewer in six of nine.
New Jersey is 2-4-0 in its past six games and has allowed at least four goals in four of five.

Players to watch

Devils forward Blake Coleman has five goals and two assists during a five-game point streak.
Islanders center Mathew Barzal has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in the past 12 games.

They said it

"It's going to be a good test for us. It's a Metro game, a rivalry game, so we need to be ready and get up for it. They're a really good team, they're playing good hockey right now. We've just got to be ready to play." -- Devils defenseman Will Butcher
"Obviously, a New York-area team. To me, it's always a turf war. Obviously just because of location, they're a rival. I think it should be a good game obviously from a standpoint of energy on both sides. They play quick, they've got some dynamic people, especially in the middle. We'll have to be ready and prepared." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz

Devils projected lineup

Marcus Johansson -- Nico Hischier -- Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman -- Travis Zajac - Kyle Palmieri
Brett Seney -- Pavel Zacha - Drew Stafford
Brian Boyle --
Kevin Rooney
--
Blake Pietila
Andy Greene -- Damon Severson
Will Butcher -- Sami Vatanen
Mirco Mueller -- Steven Santini
Mackenzie Blackwood
Keith Kinkaid
Scratched:Cameron Johnson, Egor Yakovlev
Injured:Ben Lovejoy (upper body), Miles Wood (lower body), Joey Anderson (ankle), Taylor Hall (lower body), Cory Schneider (abdominal strain), Stefan Noesen (lower body)

Islanders projected lineup

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

Status report

Devils coach John Hynes confirmed Hall will not return until after NHL All-Star Weekend (Jan. 25-26). Lovejoy and Wood are day-to-day. … Trotz did not confirm which goalie will start but each is likely to play on this back-to-back. The Islanders visit the Washington Capitals on Friday. … If Kuhnhackl plays, it would be his first game since Jan. 3. He did not participate in the optional morning skate; Dal Colle did.

Stat pack

Zajac has a goal and two assists in the past two games. … Greiss has two wins against the Devils this season (3-0 on Nov. 3 at Barclays Center and 4-3 in overtime on Nov. 23 at Prudential Center). Lee has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past seven games. The Islanders have 1,599 wins. This will be their 3,628th game in the NHL.