Preview: Lightning at Islanders

LIGHTNING (8-6-1) at ISLANDERS (5-7-3)
7 p.m. ET; SUN, MSG+, TVA Sports, NHL.TV

Lightning team scope

It's the first of a five-game road trip for the Tampa Bay Lightning, who have been unable to string wins together; they have alternated wins and losses in their past six games (3-2-1). They'll play 12 of their next 17 on the road. The Lightning will be without defenseman Anton Stralman, who sustained an upper-body injury in the third period of a 3-1 loss against the San Jose Sharks on Saturday. Stralman is expected to miss at least the first two games of the road trip. "Definitely not playing in these two, probably won't play in the first three," coach Jon Cooper told the Tampa Bay Times. "We'll start making a decision here after a week. It'd be later in the trip if we're going to see Anton." The Lightning recalled defenseman Luke Witkowski from Syracuse of the American Hockey League on Monday but he won't play, according to the Tampa Bay Times.

Islanders team scope

After being projected to miss 4-6 weeks because of an upper-body injury, New York Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic will return to the lineup Monday. Hamonic sustained the injury in a game against the Edmonton Oilers on Nov. 5 and missed the past three games, including back-to-back road losses at the Lightning and the Florida Panthers, which Hamonic watched from home. "My wife doesn't like it, especially when the team's on the road and I'm watching the games," Hamonic said. "It's frustrating for sure. Anytime no matter how the team is doing, you always want to be out there with the guys and in the trenches working. Hockey players, we're bred to play. We're not bred to sit around and watch. I'm just excited to get back out there and compete, and I'm sure my wife's happy … it's been a week [and now] I'm back out of the house." The Islanders will dress seven defenseman; Scott Mayfield was recalled from Bridgeport of the AHL on an emergency basis Monday and will make his season debut. He will replace defenseman Dennis Seidenberg, who is out indefinitely because of an upper-body injury sustained during a 3-2 overtime loss at the Panthers on Saturday. Mayfield had one goal, one assist and a plus-4 rating in 12 games for Bridgeport.

Lightning projected lineup

Vladislav Namestnikov -- Steven Stamkos -- Nikita Kucherov
Ondrej Palat -- Tyler Johnson -- Alex Killorn
Brayden Point -- Valtteri Filppula -- Ryan Callahan
Brian Boyle -- Cedric Paquette -- JT Brown
Victor Hedman -- Andrej Sustr
Nikita Nesterov -- Jason Garrison
Slater Koekkoek -- Braydon Coburn
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Ben Bishop
Scratched: Luke Witkowski
Injured: Jonathan Drouin (upper body), Anton Stralman (upper body)

Islanders projected lineup

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

Status report

Vasilevskiy was the first goalie to leave the ice at the Lightning's morning skate Monday. … Cooper put Point back on a line with Filppula and Callahan, and moved Killorn up to a line with Palat and Johnson. "They have a little chemistry," Cooper said of Point and Filppula. "Point didn't score when they were together, but I think it helped Val." … Halak will make his sixth straight start for New York. This will be the first time this season the Islanders have dressed 11 forwards and seven defensemen. "We just want to make sure we're secure on the back end," coach Jack Capuano said. "I had a conversation with Travis [Sunday] and he wants to give it a go. At the same time, we don't play [again] until Friday. Our top guys are going to get more ice time tonight. We've got to change things up a little bit, try to gain some more offense from our attack."

Who's hot

Boyle has two goals and an assist in the past four games. … Tavares has at least a point in eight of his past 10 games (four goals, six assists).