The New York Islanders can move into the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a victory. They are two points behind the Boston Bruins, but have two games in hand. The Islanders host the Bruins on Saturday. Goalie
Jaroslav Halak
will start one day after being recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. It will be Halak's first NHL start since Dec. 29, when he allowed four goals on 24 shots in a 6-4 loss at the Minnesota Wild. Halak is 6-8-5 with a 3.23 goals-against average and .904 save percentage in the NHL this season. "We still covet him. We still need him," coach Doug Weight said. "He's got his game back. He's played really, really well [in the AHL]." The Islanders will be without forward Ryan Strome for 3-6 weeks. Strome, who has 30 points (13 goals, 17 assists) in 69 games this season, left a 3-2 win at the New York Rangers on Wednesday with an upper-body injury, which Newsday reported is a broken right wrist. "It's a little better than it looked at first, but it'll be an extended time, whether that's three weeks or six weeks, we'll have to wait and see," Weight said. "It looks as though he'll avoid surgery which is nice, so just hit the wrong way and it's a tough time." Forward Alan Quine will play in Strome's place. The Islanders are 17-9-4 since Weight replaced Jack Capuano as coach Jan. 17. "It's probably a simple answer, but you have to win," Weight said. "You have to win big games."
