Islanders at Bruins preview

ISLANDERS (30-15-6) at BRUINS (28-17-7)
7 p.m. ET ; NESN, MSG+2 , NHL.TV

Bergeron will become the fifth person to play 1,000 games for the Bruins, joining Ray Bourque (1,518), Johnny Bucyk (1,436), Don Sweeney (1,052) and Wayne Cashman (1,027).
Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask is expected to start. He is 7-0-2 with a 1.70 goals-against average and .942 save percentage in his past 10 games.
The Islanders will look to extend their point streak to nine games; they are 6-0-2 since a 2-1 loss to the New York Rangers on Jan. 12.

Players to watch

Islanders center Mathew Barzal has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past nine games after he had 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in his previous nine.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak has seven points (three goals, four assists) during a four-game point streak.

They said it

"A big challenge for us coming off last year was improving our defensive game and we've obviously done that. But we're not looking to stop here; there's always room to improve and we're not looking to get complacent, so hopefully we can continue to improve over the course of the year." -- Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech on allowing the fewest goals per game (2.35) after giving up an NHL-worst 3.57 last season
"I think since we've been healthy we've played a lot of good hockey, just not [a] consistent 60 minutes. We've talked about that, we've let some points get away." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on Boston going 2-2-3 in its past seven games

Islanders projected lineup

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

Bruins projected lineup

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Peter Cehlarik
-- David Krejci -- Jake DeBrusk
Sean Kuraly -- Noel Acciari -- Chris Wagner
Joakim Nordstrom --
Trent Frederic
-- David Backes
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
Matt Grzelcyk -- Kevan Miller
Tuukka Rask
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched:Steven Kampfer, John Moore, Danton Heinen
Injured:None

Status report

The Islanders did not hold a morning skate; the Bruins had an optional skate. … Boston will use the same lineup that dressed for its 1-0 win against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday. Halak, who spent the past four seasons with the Islanders, is expected to start when the Bruins play the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.

Stat pack

Lee has no points in his past five games after getting 10 points (four goals, six assists) in his previous eight. … The Bruins have won their past five games and 10 of their past 12 against the Islanders. … Bergeron will become the 334th NHL player with 1,000 games.