Islanders at Predators preview

ISLANDERS (5-4-1) at PREDATORS (5-3-2)
8 p.m. ET; MSG+2, FS-TN, NHL.TV

Goaltender Jaroslav Halak is expected to start. He has a 13-3-4 career record against Nashville. Defensemen Ryan Pulock and Dennis Seidenberg will play after being a healthy scratch in each of the past two games. New York lost to the Minnesota Wild, 6-4 at Xcel Energy Center on Thursday, but is 3-1-0 in its past four games.
Predators goalie Pekka Rinne could get the night off after making 43 saves in a 2-1 win against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Friday. The Predators are 3-0-1 at home this season.

Players to watch

Islanders forward John Tavares has seven points (four goals, three assists) in his past three games. Forward Josh Bailey has eight points (two goals, six assists) during a five-game point streak.
Predators forward Filip Forsberg has 12 points (seven goals, five assists) in 10 games. Defenseman P.K. Subban leads the Predators with eight assists and has nine points (one goal, eight assists) in 10 games.

They said it

"I'm looking forward to that, being able to play kind of a regular shift and getting into the game. I look to get out there simplify things and play with confidence. -- Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock on being in the lineup with six defensemen instead of seven
"Obviously not the start we wanted, but we were able to hang in there. And then from the second period on, I thought we played pretty well and started creating more offense, creating more chances and eventually got on the board." -- Predators goaltender Pekka Rinne after the 2-1 win against the Blackhawks

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Brock Nelson -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Andrew Ladd -- Casey Cizikas -- Jason Chimera
Nikolay Kulemin -- Anthony Beauvillier -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Dennis Seidenberg -- Calvin de Haan
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Jaroslav Halak
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Thomas Hickey, Scott Mayfield
Injured: Shane Prince (ankle)

Predators projected lineup

Filip Forsberg -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Scott Hartnell -- Calle Jarnkrok -- Kevin Fiala
Pontus Aberg -- Frederick Gaudreau -- Craig Smith
Miikka Salomaki -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Mattias Ekholm -- P.K. Subban
Roman Josi -- Samuel Girard
Alexei Emelin -- Yannick Weber
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched:Matt Irwin, Anthony Bitetto, Cody McLeod
Injured:Nick Bonino (lower body), Ryan Ellis (knee)

Status report

Pulock and Seidenberg will replace Hickey and Mayfield. ... Beauvillier will begin the game at center. … The Predators did not hold a morning skate.

Stat pack

Lee has six points (four goals, two assists) in a four-game point streak. ... Jarnkrok scored his first goal of the season on Friday.