Islanders at Predators preview
New York can tighten Metropolitan race; Nashville 1-5-0 in past six games on home ice
by Robby Stanley / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
ISLANDERS (33-16-6) at PREDATORS (26-22-7)
8 p.m. ET; FS-TN, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV
The Game
The New York Islanders can tighten the race in the Metropolitan Division with a win against the Nashville Predators at Bridgestone Arena on Thursday.
The Islanders trail the Pittsburgh Penguins by two points for second in the division and are five points behind the first-place Washington Capitals. New York is 5-1-1 in its past seven games after going 1-3-2 in its previous six.
The Predators have lost two in a row after a 4-1-0 stretch and are 1-5-0 in their past six games on home ice. They're five points behind the Arizona Coyotes for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Western Conference.
Players to watch
Islanders forward Josh Bailey has six points (one goal, five assists) in a three-game point streak.
Predators forward Mikael Granlund has scored six goals in his past 10 games.
They said it
"It's really tough. Obviously, we're going to have to have guys step up like other times when we've had guys go down. Guys have done a great job of trying to fill the void as best as possible. It's tough to replace him on the ice. In our locker room, he's a big presence too." -- Islanders forward Josh Bailey on playing without injured center Casey Cizikas
"It's been a while now since we've treated every game like a playoff game pretty much. We've had some good games on the road. Obviously not the last two but the games before that, and that's kind of the game we've got to get back to. Really solid defensively and making sure we keep the [shot] number low in our end and try to get the offense going a little bit more." -- Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm on playing better at home
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Kieffer Bellows -- Derick Brassard -- Michael Dal Colle
Matt Martin -- Cole Bardreau -- Leo Komarov
Devon Toews -- Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Noah Dobson -- Scott Mayfield
Thomas Greiss
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Sebastian Aho
Injured: Cal Clutterbuck (wrist), Adam Pelech (Achilles), Casey Cizikas (leg laceration)
Predators projected lineup
Mikael Granlund -- Ryan Johansen -- Viktor Arvidsson
Filip Forsberg -- Matt Duchene -- Kyle Turris
Rocco Grimaldi -- Nick Bonino -- Craig Smith
Calle Jarnkrok -- Colton Sissons -- Austin Watson
Roman Josi -- Dante Fabbro
Jarred Tinordi -- Mattias Ekholm
Dan Hamhuis -- Yannick Weber
Juuse Saros
Pekka Rinne
Scratched: Matt Irwin, Colin Blackwell
Injured: Ryan Ellis (upper body)
Status report
Cizikas will be out 3-4 weeks. … Bardreau was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. … The Predators reassigned forward Yakov Trenin to the Milwaukee of the AHL on Thursday.
Stat pack
Greiss is 3-6-0 with a 3.41 goals-against average and .885 save percentage in 10 games against the Predators. … Granlund has seven points (three goals, four assists) in 11 games against the Islanders.