Islanders at Bruins preview

ISLANDERS (22-8-2) at BRUINS (21-7-7)
7 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SNE, SNO, SNP, TVAS, NESN, NHL.TV

The Atlantic Division-leading Bruins, 1-4-2 in their past seven games after an eight-game winning streak, have not lost to the Islanders since a 4-0 home loss on Jan. 16, 2017.
Goalie Tuukka Rask will start and seek to end his season-long four-game winless streak; he's 0-2-2 with a 3.50 goals-against average and .878 save percentage in that span.
New York, 6-3-0 in its past nine games, eyes its third consecutive road win. Goalie Semyon Varlamov, who allowed three goals on nine shots in relief of Thomas Greiss during an 8-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Tuesday, will look to win his fifth start in a row. He has allowed six goals in his past four starts.

Players to watch

Islanders center Brock Nelson has five points (three goals, two assists) in his past four games.
Bruins forward Brad Marchand has seven assists in a five-game point streak.

They said it

"They come and compete and they know their roles. And there's an expectation of how they need to play night in and night out. They've got two good goaltenders, they're pretty solid on the back end and they give you a structure, an accountable game every night." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz on the Bruins
"I think we've played better lately. We haven't had the wins to show for it. I still stay the last four games have been better overall than maybe some of the ones when we won. So you've got to keep that in mind. We've got to correct the things we're doing that are separating us from winning and losing, obviously." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy

Islanders projected lineup

Ross Johnston -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Anders Lee -- Derick Brassard -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Leo Komarov
Injured:Michael Dal Colle (upper body)

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- Danton Heinen
Anders Bjork -- Charlie Coyle -- Chris Wagner
Joakim Nordstrom -- Sean Kuraly -- David Backes
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk -- Connor Clifton
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched: Brett Ritchie, Par Lindholm
Injured:Karson Kuhlman (fractured tibia), Kevan Miller (knee), John Moore (illness)

Status report

The Islanders held an optional morning skate. … Kuhnhackl will return after missing 22 games with a lower-body injury and will replace Komarov. … Dal Colle will miss his second straight game but is skating and is day-to-day. … Marchand missed practice Wednesday but skated Thursday and is expected to play. … Clifton will replace Moore.

Stat pack

Beauvillier has four points (one goal, three assists) in his past two games. … Pastrnak has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games.