Islanders at Lightning preview
New York seeks third win in a row; Vasilevskiy looks to extend streak for Tampa Bay
by Corey Long / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
ISLANDERS (31-15-6) at LIGHTNING (34-15-5)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SUN, MSG+ 2, NHL.TV
The Game
Andrei Vasilevskiy will look to extend his point streak to 18 games when the Tampa Bay Lightning host the New York Islanders at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
The goalie set a Lightning record with 17 consecutive games with a point (15-0-2) in a 4-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday.
The Lightning have won five straight and are 17-2-1 in their past 20 games.
New York has won two straight and is 3-0-2 in its past five games, with three of the games being decided by one goal.
The Islanders have won the first two games against the Lightning this season.
Players to watch
Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier has 10 points (five goals, five assists) in his past eight games.
Lightning forward Brayden Point has seven points (goal, six assists) during a five-game point streak.
They said it
"I'm not looking at six out of seven [on the road], I'm looking at Tampa Bay. That's how you have to look at it. There's so many good teams and we have to go through them, you have to win your games and take care of it." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz
"You know what you're going to get out of [the Islanders]. They're going to be a hard-checking team, they are really sound defensively and play well in their structure. So it's a matter of us putting enough pressure on them to kind of break them down a little bit." -- Lightning defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Michael Dal Colle -- Derick Brassard -- Kieffer Bellows
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Leo Komarov
Nick Leddy -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Noah Dobson -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Sebastian Aho, Ross Johnston
Injured: Adam Pelech (Achilles tendon), Cal Clutterbuck (wrist)
Lightning projected lineup
Steven Stamkos -- Brayden Point -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Anthony Cirelli -- Tyler Johnson
Alex Killorn -- Cedric Paquette -- Pat Maroon
Carter Verhaeghe -- Mitchell Stephens -- Yanni Gourde
Victor Hedman -- Erik Cernak
Mikhail Sergachev -- Kevin Shattenkirk
Braydon Coburn -- Luke Schenn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Curtis McElhinney
Scratched: Cameron Gaunce
Injured: Jan Rutta (lower body), Ryan McDonagh (lower body)
Status report
Lightning coach Jon Cooper said McDonagh will be out for at least a couple of weeks. …The Lightning recalled defenseman Cameron Gaunce from Syracuse of the American Hockey League. … Mayfield participated in the optional skate after missing practice Friday for maintenance.
Stat pack
Stamkos has 14 points (eight goals, six assists) during a nine-game point streak. …Kucherov has 16 points (eight goals, eight assists) during a nine-game point streak. …Nelson has four points (two goals, two assists) during a four-game point streak. …Eberle has nine points (four goals, five assists) In the past nine games.