Sharks at Islanders preview

SHARKS (26-31-4) at ISLANDERS (34-20-6)
5 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, NBCSCA, NHL.TV

The Islanders, who defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Friday to end a four-game losing streak, are tied with the Carolina Hurricanes and Columbus Blue Jackets for fourth in the division and the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Sharks have lost three games in a row, including 3-2 against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, when forward Evander Kane was benched for the third period. They are 13 points out of the second wild card from the Western Conference.

Players to watch

Sharks center Joe Thornton scored both goals Saturday, his first multigoal game this season and 44th in his NHL career.
Islanders forward Jordan Eberle had a hat trick in the win against the Red Wings.

They said it

"There's an expectation here and a standard that we hold every player the same, accountable to. You have to be prepared and you have to be able to get out there and compete for your teammates. I didn't think [Kane] had any of that." -- Sharks coach Bob Boughner on benching Evander Kane
"Now that we were able to kind of right the ship a little bit and get back on track you start to feel good again. It's exciting to have this opportunity tonight and that's what we look forward to. It's a day by day thing at this point of the year." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee

Sharks projected lineup

Timo Meier -- Joe Thornton -- Kevin Labanc
Evander Kane -- Barclay Goodrow -- Patrick Marleau
Stefan Noesen -- Joel Kellman -- Marcus Sorensen
Noah Gregor -- Alexander True -- Dylan Gambrell
Marc-Edouard Vlasic -- Mario Ferraro
Jake Middleton -- Tim Heed
Radim Simek -- Brent Burns
Martin Jones
Aaron Dell
Scratched:Nicolas Meloche, Antti Suomela
Injured:Logan Couture (fractured ankle), Tomas Hertl (knee), Dalton Prout (concussion), Erik Karlsson (broken thumb), Melker Karlsson (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Leo Komarov
Kieffer Bellows
-- Josh Bailey -- Michael Dal Colle
Matt Martin -- Otto Koivula -- Tom Kuhnhackl
Andy Greene -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Ross Johnston, Noah Dobson
Injured:Cal Clutterbuck (wrist), Casey Cizikas (lacerated leg), Derick Brassard (upper body), Adam Pelech (Achilles)

Status report

The Islanders recalled Bellows from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League and returned forward Andrew Ladd.

Stat pack

The Sharks lead the NHL in penalty killing (85.9 percent) and are second on the road (85.2 percent) to the Edmonton Oilers (89.9 percent). … Barzal needs three points for 200 in the NHL (58 goals, 139 assists).