Islanders at Avalanche preview

ISLANDERS (15-12-4) at AVALANCHE (18-9-6)
9 p.m. ET; ALT, MSG+, NHL.TV

Rantanen has 27 points (eight goals, 19 assists) in a 14-game run and leads the NHL in points (56) and assists (41).
Goalie Thomas Greiss is expected to start for the Islanders, who are beginning a four-game Western Conference road trip after going 1-1-1 on a three-game homestand. Greiss made 18 saves in a 4-3 shootout win against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and is 6-2-1 with a 2.25 goals-against average, .933 save percentage and one shutout in 10 games against Colorado.

Players to watch

Islanders center Mathew Barzal has six points (one goal, five assists) in a four-game point streak after going three games without a point.
Avalanche forward Nathan MacKinnon has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in a five-game point streak and 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in his past 14 games. He's second in the NHL with 52 points.

They said it

"(The road trip) is actually needed for us. We were at home for a while. Even our road trips have been just into the city, so you're really at home quite a bit. It'll probably get us focused a little bit on our game. Going on the road, I think you have to play a real structured team game." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz
"(The Islanders) are one of the stingiest teams out East. They've been real good and work real hard. They're tough to find space on, they skate real well, they have the ability to hang onto pucks in the offensive zone. Looks like it's going to be a tough matchup." -- Avalanche coach Jared Bednar

Islanders projected lineup

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

Avalanche projected lineup

Gabriel Landeskog -- Nathan MacKinnon -- Mikko Rantanen
Tyson Jost -- J.T. Compher -- Sven Andrighetto
Matt Nieto -- Carl Soderberg -- Matt Calvert
Gabriel Bourque --
Sheldon Dries
-- Colin Wilson
Samuel Girard -- Erik Johnson
Ian Cole -- Tyson Barrie
Nikita Zadorov -- Patrik Nemeth
Semyon Varlamov
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched: None
Injured:Mark Barberio (upper body), Vladislav Kamenev (shoulder), Alex Kerfoot (upper body)

Status report

Kerfoot is expected to practice Tuesday and possibly play against the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday. … Dries was recalled from Colorado of the American Hockey League, where defenseman Mark Alt and forward A.J. Greer were assigned.

Stat pack

Beauvillier has scored a goal in three straight games. … Landeskog has 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his past seven games.