Islanders at Blackhawks preview

ISLANDERS (23-20-4) at BLACKHAWKS (22-17-6)
8:30 p.m. ET; NBCSCH, MSG+, NHL.TV

Defenseman
Erik Gustafsson
, who was voted to the AHL All-Star Game, will make his NHL season debut for the Blackhawks. He was teamed with Brent Seabrook on the third pairing at the morning skate. The Blackhawks lost 4-0 to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday in their final game before the break.
The Islanders recalled forward
Ross Johnston
from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Friday. He will also make his season debut for New York, which has lost two in a row and is 3-7-0 in its past 10 games.

Players to watch

Islanders center Mathew Barzal has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past five games. He leads all rookies with 48 points.
Blackhawks forward Nick Schmaltz has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past 10 games.

They said it

"It's a huge game. Both teams, you look up and down the roster, there are some similarities throughout the team. It's gonna be a good game, it's gonna be a fast-paced game. Both teams can score goals, so it should be a fun match tonight. It should be a shootout." -- Islanders rookie center Mathew Barzal
"They have some skill, they have some guys who can make plays, the young kid's going to be a special player, their top line, power play is dangerous as well. We're playing a dangerous team. Both teams are probably in the same predicament." -- Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Ross Johnston -- Brock Nelson -- Alan Quine
Jason Chimera --
Tanner Fritz
-- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Scott Mayfield
Adam Pelech -- Sebastian Aho
Thomas Hickey -- Ryan Pulock
Jaroslav Halak
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Michael Dal Colle](https://www.nhl.com/player/michael-dal-colle-8477936?season=20172018), Dennis Seidenberg
Injured:Casey Cizikas (upper body), Nikolay Kulemin (upper body), Andrew Ladd (lower body), Shane Prince (undisclosed), Johnny Boychuk (lower body), Calvin de Haan (upper body)

Blackhawks projected lineup

Brandon Saad -- Jonathan Toews -- Anthony Duclair
Ryan Hartman -- Nick Schmaltz -- Patrick Kane
Alex DeBrincat --
David Kampf
--
Vinnie Hinostroza
Lance Bouma -- Tommy Wingels -- Patrick Sharp
Duncan Keith -- Jordan Oesterle
Gustav Forsling -- Jan Rutta
Erik Gustafsson -- Brent Seabrook
Anton Forsberg
Jeff Glass
Scratched:Tomas Jurco](https://www.nhl.com/player/tomas-jurco-8476430?season=20172018),Michal Kempny, Connor Murphy
Injured:Artem Anisimov (upper body), Corey Crawford (upper body), Michal Rozsival (upper body)

Status report

Anisimov skated with the Blackhawks for the second straight day but won't play. Quenneville hopes he will return Monday against the Tampa Bay Lightning. ... Ladd and Prince did not make the trip to Chicago. Boychuk and Cizikas did, but neither will play.

Stat pack

Chicago has won five in a row and nine of 11 against the Islanders, who haven't won at United Center since March 15, 2009. … Eberle has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past five games. ... Toews has no points in his past three games after having nine in a five-game point streak.