Islanders at Senators preview

Pageau played 428 games in parts of eight seasons with the Senators before he was traded to the Islanders on Feb. 24 for three draft picks. He has two goals and a minus-five rating in four games with New York.

Goaltender Semyon Varlamov will start for the Islanders, who are 0-2-2 in their past four games. New York holds the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes.

Goaltender Craig Anderson will start for the Senators, who are 2-4-1 in their past seven games after going 3-1-0 in their previous four.

Players to watch

Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov is 19-13-5 with a 2.56 goals-against average and .916 save percentage and this season.

Senators defenseman Thomas Chabot has four points (one goal, three assists) in a four-game point streak.

They said it

"You can see why he's so endearing to the coaches. He's so endearing to the players that he plays with just because of the person that he is. … He has just one of those personalities that fits in well with the team, and he plays the right way. He plays a 200-foot game. … I think he's going to be a real good fit for us for a long time." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz on Jean-Gabriel Pageau

"They're fighting for every point to get into the playoffs, so they don't take anyone lightly. … It's a good game for us because they're going to make you play hard, and it's going to be emotional because they're going to bang bodies and we're going to have to hit them back." -- Senators coach D.J. Smith

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle

Michael Dal Colle -- Brock Nelson -- Derick Brassard

Anthony Beauvillier -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Josh Bailey

Matt Martin -- Otto Koivula -- Cal Clutterbuck

Andy Greene -- Ryan Pulock

Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield

Nick Leddy -- Noah Dobson

Semyon Varlamov

Thomas Greiss

Scratched: Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andrew Ladd, Thomas Hickey, Leo Komarov

Injured: Casey Cizikas (lacerated leg), Adam Pelech (Achilles), Johnny Boychuk (facial laceration)

 
Senators projected lineup

Brady Tkachuk -- Chris Tierney -- Connor Brown

Rudolfs Balcers -- Colin White -- Bobby Ryan

Anthony Duclair -- Nick Paul -- Jayce Hawryluk

Mikkel Boedker -- Matthew Peca -- Scott Sabourin

Thomas Chabot -- Ron Hainsey

Mike Reilly -- Nikita Zaitsev

Andreas Englund -- Christian Jaros

Craig Anderson

Filip Gustavsson

Scratched: Marcus Hogberg

Injured: Anders Nilsson (concussion), Mark Borowiecki (high ankle sprain), Artem Anisimov (lower body)

Status report

Boychuk required 90 stitches for a cut on his eyelid from a skate during a 6-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Tuesday. There is no timetable for the defenseman's return to the lineup. … Hickey, a defenseman, was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. … Hogberg, who is in Sweden for personal reasons, could rejoin the team on the upcoming road trip, Smith said of the goalie. … There is still no timetable for goalie Nilsson's return.

Stat pack

The Islanders are 2-6-2 in their past 10 games after going 5-1-1 in their previous seven. … Tkachuk needs one goal for his second straight season of at least 20 goals.