Islanders at Senators preview

ISLANDERS (38-21-7) at SENATORS (23-38-6)
7:30 p.m. ET; MSG+, TSN5, RDS, NHL.TV

The Islanders can tie the Washington Capitals in points with a victory. They defeated Ottawa 5-4 in a shootout at Nassau Coliseum on Tuesday.
Goalie Thomas Greiss, who finished that game after starter Robin Lehner was injured in a third-period collision and got the win, will start. He is 6-2-1 with a .958 save percentage and three shutouts in his past 10 games.
Anders Nilsson will start in goal for Ottawa, which will try for its second win in 10 games.

Players to watch

Islanders forward Josh Bailey has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games.
Senators forward Brian Gibbons has four points (two goals, two assists) in his past five games.

They said it

"There's always a mental pressure to win hockey games when you're in the race and battle for [the playoffs]. And so, we've just got to accept it and enjoy it, not let it wear you [down], think about it the whole time and [let it] take your energy. Sort of embrace the battle, if you will. It's an exciting time. We've put ourselves in a position to make the playoffs. We haven't done that yet, but we've put ourselves in that position." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz
"You watch them play, they really [give] a full-team effort. No passengers. That was something I took away from the game [Tuesday]." -- Senators defenseman Mark Borowiecki on the Islanders

Islanders projected lineup

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

Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Anthony Duclair
Rudolfs Balcers -- Chris Tierney -- Magnus Paajarvi
Zack Smith -- Colin White -- Bobby Ryan
Brian Gibbons -- Oscar Lindberg -- Mikkel Boedker
Thomas Chabot -- Dylan DeMelo
Christian Wolanin -- Cody Ceci
Mark Borowiecki -- Ben Harpur
Anders Nilsson
Craig Anderson
Scratched:None
Injured:Christian Jaros (hamstring)

Status report

Gibson was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. Trotz would neither confirm nor deny whether Lehner's absence is concussion-related. He said his team's health has gotten "back on track" after the Islanders dealt with a flu bug earlier in the week. … Senators coach Marc Crawford said Jaros likely won't play Thursday or Saturday.

Stat pack

The Islanders are 6-1-1 in their past eight games in Ottawa. … The Senators have allowed at least four goals in four of their past five games.