Preview: Jets at Islanders

JETS (30-33-7) at ISLANDERS (33-25-11)
7 p.m. ET; MSG+2, TSN3, NHL.TV

Jets team scope

The Winnipeg Jets will be without defenseman Jacob Trouba for the finale of what became a two-game road trip when their scheduled game at the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday was postponed by a snowstorm. Trouba missed a 5-4 overtime loss at the Nashville Predators on Monday with an upper-body injury and coach Paul Maurice ruled him out after the morning skate at Barclays Center. Forward Shawn Matthias also will miss the game with an upper-body injury. Forward Nic Petan will dress after being a healthy scratch in five of the past six games. With the extra day off, "It feels like we've been on the road for a week and a half and haven't played a game for a month, but it's only been two days," Maurice said. "This is a team that finishes a lot of hits and that will get you back into the game really quickly." The Jets are 0-3-1 in their past four games and trail the St. Louis Blues by 10 points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Western Conference with 12 games remaining. Though the Jets playoff hopes are all but gone, forward Mathieu Perreault thinks they still have something to play for. "Since we're not really fighting for a playoff spot anymore, this is how we can get up for games; try to play spoiler," he said.

Islanders team scope

The New York Islanders are tied with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second wild card into the playoffs from the Eastern Conference and one point ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs, who play at Tampa Bay on Thursday. Defenseman Thomas Hickey admitted to being something of a scoreboard watcher at this time of year. "A lot of us would be lying if we said we didn't look," he said. "It's going to be like this for the next 13 games. That's just the way it is." Center Brock Nelson, who was a late scratch for a 3-2 overtime victory at the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday with an upper-body injury, will be back in the lineup. Rookie center Anthony Beauvillier will be a healthy scratch. Nelson "had a good couple of days," coach Doug Weight said. "It was in an area that was concerning and where he didn't have very good strength. He's ready to go." Goaltender Thomas Greiss will start for the 10th time in 11 games.

Jets projected lineup

Nikolaj Ehlers -- Bryan Little -- Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault -- Mark Scheifele -- Blake Wheeler
Andrew Copp -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Marko Dano -- Nic Petan -- Chris Thorburn
Julian Melchiori -- Dustin Byfuglien
Josh Morrissey - Paul Postma
Mark Stuart -- Ben Chiarot
Connor Hellebuyck
Michael Hutchinson
Scratched:None
Injured:Toby Enstrom (concussion), Tyler Myers (lower body), Ondrej Pavelec (lower body), Jacob Trouba (upper body), Shawn Matthias (upper body)

Islanders projected lineup

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

Status report

Hellebuyck will start his 15th consecutive game. … Weight said Cizikas is "right around the corner" and Beauvillier "will be back in soon." … Boychuk is expected to resume skating soon. "He's got his motion back and he's moving," Weight said. "We miss him. Hopefully he can skate tomorrow."

Who's hot

Laine has 20 points (11 goals, nine assists) in 18 games since the All-Star break. … Ehlers has nine points (three goals, six assists) in his past eight games. … Scheifele has 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) in his past 12 games. … Tavares has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past six games. … Ho-Sang has six points (three goals, three assists) in his past five games.