Islanders at Senators preview

ISLANDERS (31-35-10) at SENATORS (26-38-11)
7:30 p.m. ET; TSN5, RDS, MSG+, NHL.TV

Each team is playing the second game of a back-to-back. The Senators lost 4-1 to the Carolina Hurricanes and the Islanders were defeated by the Florida Panthers 3-0.
Goalie Mike Condon could start for Ottawa, which has scored two goals or fewer in each of its past five games. Defenseman Erik Karlsson who did not make the trip to Carolina to be with his wife after the loss of their son, likely will play.
Goalie Jaroslav Halak could start for New York after he backed up Christopher Gibson on Monday when the Islanders were eliminated from playoff contention.

Players to watch

Islanders forward John Tavares has nine points (two goals, seven assists) in his past six games.
Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson has 15 points (three goals, 12 assists) in his past 11 games.

They said it

"It's their job. So, first and foremost, they owe it to themselves, each other, the fans and the organization, to work as hard as they can every day and we're going to try to get it out of them." -- Islanders coach Doug Weight on the players' motivation
"The way I was raised was to keep battling and to keep working through it and, in the end, I think I've started playing some of the best hockey of my career here." -- Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on being nominated for the Bill Masterton Trophy

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Andrew Ladd -- Brock Nelson -- Tanner Fritz
Ross Johnston -- Chris Wagner -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Hickey -- Ryan Pulock
Scott Mayfield -- Adam Pelech
Jaroslav Halak
Christopher Gibson
Scratched: Dennis Seidenberg, Brandon Davidson
Injured:Thomas Greiss (lower body), Calvin de Haan (upper body), Casey Cizikas (upper body), Nikolay Kulemin (upper body), Shane Prince (lower body), Alan Quine (lower body)

Senators projected lineup

Ryan Dzingel -- Matt Duchene -- Mike Hoffman
Bobby Ryan -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Zack Smith
Magnus Paajarvi -- Filip Chlapik -- Tom Pyatt
Max McCormick --
Ben Sexton
-- Alexandre Burrows
Thomas Chabot -- Erik Karlsson
Christian Wolanin -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Ben Harpur
Mike Condon
Craig Anderson
Scratched:Fredrik Claesson
Injured:Mark Stone (leg), Chris Wideman (hamstring), Marian Gaborik (undisclosed)

Status report

Mayfield has been activated from injured reserve and could play.

Stat pack

The Islanders are 2-10-4 in their past 16 games and have allowed at least four goals in four of their past seven. … The Senators have been outscored 24-8 during their losing streak.