Islanders at Lightning preview

ISLANDERS (10-6-2) at LIGHTNING (15-2-2)
7 p.m. ET, SUN, MSG+, NHL.TV

Lightning forward Steven Stamkos leads the NHL with 35 points (10 goals, 25 assists); linemate Nikita Kucherov is first in goals with 17.
The Islanders have won back-to-back games and are 3-1-1 in their past five. Center John Tavares is tied with Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals for second in the NHL with 13 goals and has 11 goals in his past 11 games.

Players to watch

Islanders center Mathew Barzal has 14 points (three goals, 11 assists) in his past nine games.
Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy leads the NHL with 14 wins and has allowed a total of seven goals in his past four starts.

They said it

[Saturday] isn't going to be who scores the most goals. It's going to be who plays well defensively. We have to be ready to do that." -- Islanders forward Jordan Eberle
"We aren't satisfied yet. We don't want to get complacent. We're a team that wants to keep improving. The Islanders are going to be a good test. They are a fast team that is playing well." -- Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Andrew Ladd -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Joshua Ho-Sang
Jason Chimera -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan -- Adam Pelech
Thomas Hickey -- Ryan Pulock
Thomas Greiss
Jaroslav Halak
Scratched:Alan Quine, Scott Mayfield, Dennis Seidenberg
Injured:Nikolay Kulemin (upper body), Shane Prince (lower body)

Lightning projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Brayden Point -- Yanni Gourde
Alex Killorn - Tyler Johnson
Chris Kunitz - JT Brown -- Ryan Callahan
Victor Hedman -- Jake Dotchin
Mikhail Sergachev -- Anton Stralman
Braydon Coburn -- Dan Girardi
Andrej Sustr
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Peter Budaj
Scratched:Gabriel Dumont, Slater Koekkoek
Injured: Cedric Paquette (upper body)

Status report

Islanders coach Doug Weight said a final decision on the lineup would be made after warmups. ... Hedman took part in an optional morning skate after taking a maintenance day Friday.

Stat pack

The Lightning (4.00) and Islanders (3.61) rank first and second in goals per game. ... Including the 2016 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Lightning have won the past seven games against the Islanders.