LIGHTNING (27-19-5) at ISLANDERS (21-17-12)
8 p.m. ET; ESPN
Lightning projected lineup
Brayden Point -- Nicholas Paul -- Nikita Kucherov
Brandon Hagel -- Anthony Cirelli -- Steven Stamkos
Michael Eyssimont -- Tyler Motte - Connor Sheary
Alex Barre-Boulet -- Luke Glendening -- Waltteri Merela
Victor Hedman -- Darren Raddysh
Calvin de Haan -- Erik Cernak
Emil Lilleberg -- Nick Perbix
Jonas Johansson
Andrei Vasilevskiy
Scratched: None
Injured: Tanner Jeannot (lower body), Haydn Fleury (lower body), Austin Watson (lower body), Mikhail Sergachev (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Mike Reilly – Scott Mayfield
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Samuel Bolduc, Sebastian Aho
Injured: Robert Bortuzzo (lower body), Hudson Fasching (lower body)
Status report
Johansson is expected to start after Vasilevskiy made 21 saves in a 3-1 loss at the New York Rangers on Wednesday night; it was Vasilevskiy's 20th start in 22 games. ... Sergachev had successful surgery in New York on Thursday to stabilize fractures to both the tibia and fibula in his left leg after leaving on a stretcher during the second period Wednesday. The defenseman is expected to return to Tampa in the coming days to immediately begin rehabilitation; there is no timetable for his return. ... Sorokin is expected to start his second straight game after Varlamov started the previous two. ... Cizikas was activated from long-term injured reserve Thursday and is expected to return after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury. ...… Kyle MacLean, a forward, has been returned by the Islanders to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Thursday.
