Preview: Islanders at Capitals

ISLANDERS (8-10-4) at CAPITALS (13-6-2)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+, CSN-DC, NHL.TV

Islanders team scope

Goaltender Jaroslav Halak is expected to get his 15th start of the season for the New York Islanders, who did not conduct a morning skate Thursday after their 5-3 victory against the Pittsburgh Penguins at Barclays Center on Wednesday. Halak is one shutout away from 40 in his NHL career. The Islanders are 1-6-1 on the road this season, and will try to build off their win Wednesday, highlighted by goals three seconds apart late in the third period by Anders Lee and Nikolay Kulemin, which tied a League record for the fastest two goals by one team. "That was big for us," Lee told the Islanders website. "It was an ugly third (period), but we won the game and right now we need that kind of momentum."

Capitals team scope

Forward Jakub Vrana was recalled from Hershey of the American League on Tuesday and will make his NHL debut for the Washington Capitals against the Islanders. Vrana, 20, the No. 13 pick in the 2014 NHL Draft, has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in 18 AHL games this season. "I'm very excited," Vrana said. "I'm very pumped [to] just go out there and play my game and do my best." Vrana will play right wing on the third line alongside Andre Burakovsky and Evgeny Kuznetsov. "I think the one thing we're pretty confident of is that he will be an NHL regular," coach Barry Trotz told The Washington Post. "We're a deep team, and he's a 20-year-old player. He's worked on his defensive game, and it's gotten much better, and the wall play has gotten much better. Now, what we'd like to see from him is more of a pro game. In the American Hockey League, he can hand on to the puck a little bit more. I need him to give-and-go a little bit more." Goaltender Braden Holtby is expected to make his 17th start of the season. Holtby is 8-3-0 with 23 goals allowed in his past 11 games for the Capitals, who are 8-3-0 at home this season.

Islanders projected lineup

Josh Bailey -- John Tavares -- Anthony Beauvillier
Nikolay Kulemin -- Brock Nelson -- Shane Prince
Andrew Ladd -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Anders Lee -- Ryan Strome -- Jason Chimera
Nick Leddy -- Travis Hamonic
Thomas Hickey -- Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan -- Scott Mayfield
Jaroslav Halak
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:J-F Berube, Alan Quine
Injured:Adam Pelech (upper body), Dennis Seidenberg (upper body)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Marcus Johansson
Andre Burakovsky -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Jakub Vrana
Brett Connolly -- Lars Eller -- Justin Williams
Daniel Winnik -- Jay Beagle -- Tom Wilson
Karl Alzner -- Matt Niskanen
Dmitri Orlov -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Nate Schmidt
Braden Holtby
Philipp Grubauer
Scratched:Taylor Chorney, Paul Carey
Injured:T.J. Oshie (upper body)

Status report

Oshie has continued skating but still is not cleared for contact and isn't sure if he'll make the trip when the Capitals play at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday. … Niskanen will play after missing practice Tuesday with an upper-body injury. Forward Zach Sanford was reassigned to Hershey on Wednesday to make room for the recalls of Carey and Vrana. Carey did not skate Thursday because of illness.

Who's hot

Lee has four goals in his past four games. … Ovechkin has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past four games after having one goal in his previous six games. … Backstrom has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past seven games.