ISLANDERS (14-15-6) at JETS (17-18-3)
7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NHL.TV
Islanders team scope
New York Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss is expected to start Saturday after Jaroslav Halak was placed on waivers on Friday. Halak, 6-8-5 with a 3.23 goals-against average and a .904 save percentage in 21 games, was pulled in the second period of the Islanders' 6-4 loss at the Minnesota Wild on Thursday after allowing four goals on 24 shots, including three goals in a span of 1:20 in the second. Greiss, 8-5-0 with a 2.48 GAA and .922 SV% in 14 games this season, said he has to focus on his own game. "I might get a couple more games," Greiss said after the Islanders" practice on Friday. "(I have to) worry about my stuff, practice hard and play as hard as I can." Jean-Francois Berube will serve as Greiss' backup. The Islanders didn't hold a pregame skate on Saturday. Former Jets captain Andrew Ladd has three goals and an assist in his past three games. He had seven points (four goals, three assists) in his first 32 games this season. "It's one of those things with a few of our players," coach Jack Capuano said. "Anders Lee (eight goals in his past 12 games) is the same thing. They started off the season just trying to find their way. But [Ladd] has always worked hard and done the right things, and pucks are starting to go in for him." Captain John Tavares needs four points for 500 in his NHL career. Defenseman Thomas Hickey will play in his 300th game in the League.
Jets team scope
Winnipeg Jets forward Marko Dano is expected to miss eight weeks with a lower-body injury after sliding into the end boards in a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, coach Paul Maurice said Saturday. The Jets placed Dano, 22, on injured reserve on Friday. He has 10 points (three goals, seven assists) in 28 games this season. The Jets recalled forward Andrew Copp from Manitoba of the American Hockey League on Friday after sending him down on Thursday. Copp has seven points (four goals, three assists) in 25 games with Winnipeg this season. "He can do both (play center and wing)," Maurice said. "He has a defensive piece to his game ... and he can also play center if we need to, real strong on draws … he's not far off some pretty good players in terms of point production." The Jets have moved on after their 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday, forward Blake Wheeler said after Winnipeg failed to win its third straight game for the seventh time this season. "It seems so long ago, we're trying to focus on tonight," Wheeler said. "There were some parts of the game we really liked and some parts of the game we got away from. Maybe they had too much room to skate." Wheeler has seven points (three goals, four assists) in a six-game point streak. Forward Bryan Little needs three points for 400 in the NHL.
Islanders projected lineup
Anders Lee -- John Tavares -- Josh Bailey
Shane Prince -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier
Andrew Ladd -- Alan Quine -- Jason Chimera
Nikolay Kulemin -- Ryan Strome -- Cal Clutterbuck
Thomas Hickey -- Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan -- Dennis Seidenberg
Thomas Greiss
Jean-Francois Berube
Scratched: Stephen Gionta
Injured: Adam Pelech (upper body), Casey Cizikas (upper body)
Jets projected lineup
Nikolaj Ehlers -- Mark Scheifele -- Patrik Laine
Mathieu Perreault -- Bryan Little -- Blake Wheeler
Shawn Matthias -- Adam Lowry -- Joel Armia
Andrew Copp -- Nic Petan -- Drew Stafford
Josh Morrissey -- Dustin Byfuglien
Scratched: Mark Stuart, Alexander Burmistrov, Chris Thorburn
Injured: Tyler Myers (lower body), Marko Dano (lower body)
Status report
Cizikas practiced on Friday, but Capuano said he doesn't want to rush him back into the lineup. … Myers is still far from a return to the Jets with what Maurice on Friday called a soft tissue issue. "They just don't heal on a regular schedule," he said. The injury is not related to Myers' knee and hip surgeries last season, Maurice said.
Who's hot
Ehlers has six points (four goals, two assists) in his past five games. … Little has two goals and an assist in a three-game point streak.
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