Morning Skate Updates: Islanders vs Sabres

The New York Islanders take on the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at NYCB Live - Nassau Coliseum at 7 p.m. Buy tickets. Watch on MSG+2, MSG GO or NHL.TV. Listen live on 88.7FM WRHU, 103.9FM LI News or online at radio.com/islanders. Read the game preview. Check the game notes.

Video: Morning Skate Update 3/30: Barry Trotz

CLINCH-WORTHY:

The Islanders (97 points) can clinch a playoff berth with a win over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday, or a regulation loss for the Montreal Canadiens in Winnipeg.
"We set out as a goal at the beginning of the year to be in this position and to do what we need to do tonight," captain Anders Lee said. "A lot of people didn't think that was going to happen except for the guys in this room. It's a long season and we've worked extremely hard to get to this point. It would be a big validation for us in this room and be nice for us to prove as many people as we can wrong and continue to do that."
While there are multiple scenarios for the Islanders to clinch, the team is focused on taking care of their own business, rather than having someone else's results determine their destiny.
"We just want to win a game and get in the playoffs the right way and not have to rely on anything else going on to get that X next to us," Matt Martin said.
The final four games of the season will also go a long way in determining potential playoff seeding. The Islanders are currently in second place in the Metropolitan Division and are looking to have home-ice advantage in a playoff series for the first time since 1987-88.

"Hopefully we get the win tonight, but the next three games or so are just as important for seeding and positioning," Martin said. "We believed we were a good team from day one of training camp and believed we could get the job done. As a group we expected ourselves to be in this position."
It's been 29 years since the Isles clinched a playoff spot in March (March 31, 1990) and 17 years since they clinched a playoff berth on home ice.
Trotz said he's expecting a rowdy atmosphere at the Coliseum to - hopefully - commemorate the occasion.
"I hope they are out in the parking lot early, number one and bring a great energy for us," Trotz said. "Just positive, great energy and hopefully we can do the same and see if we can do this together. We're connected, our fans and our passion and what our guys want to accomplish they recognize it no question. Positive energy for us, we feed off our crowd."
"That's the great thing about the Island," Trotz added. "There is passion, there is passion from our fans, passion from our players. They love the community all that. We're going to try to get it done."

CIZIKAS SCORES 20:

It's safe to say there weren't a lot of people who would have guessed Casey Cizikas would be a 20-goal scorer this season at the beginning of the year. Cizikas himself might have been included in that.
That's nothing against him, it's just that 20 goals aren't usually expected from the guy penciled in as a grinding center and top penalty killer, let alone a guy whose previous career high was nine. But as of Thursday, Cizikas can officially call himself a 20-goal scorer after scoring the late game-tying goal against the Winnipeg Jets.
"I'm really happy for him getting 20. I don't think anybody saw that coming, not even Casey," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.
Perhaps even more impressive, Cizikas didn't net a single power-play goal this season, scoring 18 at even strength and two shorthanded. He's the eighth Islander to accomplish the feat of scoring 20 goals without any on the man advantage.

Most of Cizikas' goals have come in the dirty areas, going to the net for quick releases or whacks at rebounds. But Cizikas showed some flashes of skill on a handful of goals this season, including a pair of breakaways on Sergei Bobrovsky in Columbus on Valentine's Day.
"His work ethic and determination kind of separates him," Matt Martin said. "He scores a lot of goals that are second effort and beating guys off the wall. They aren't always the prettiest goals in the world, but he scores some big ones."
Trotz called Cizikas' contributions to the Islanders this season "monumental," citing his worth ethic in practice, as well as games. He's long lauded him as part of the team's identity line, setting a physical and energtic tones for the Islanders.
"He's had a great year. Casey is a guy who brings an energy to the day, drives practices, drives the room and drives the play," Trotz said. "Plays important minutes and has been rewarded."
As for Cizikas, he didn't have a lot to say about hitting the 20-goal plateau. He said he was glad he got it done, but immediately turned the conversation to the next game and the Isles potential to clinch a playoff spot, which speaks to something Trotz said about him on Thursday.
"Casey is probably the one guy that doesn't have a selfish bone in his body," Trotz said. "But you get to 19 and every player who ever plays in the NHL is, 'Hey, I got my first goal' benchmark. The next thing is, 'Can I get 20?' I don't know if he ever thought that way. It's really good for him."

SABRES PROJECTED LINES:

Victor Olofsson - Jack Eichel - Sam Reinhart
Jeff Skinner - Casey Mittelstadt - Jason Pominville
Conor Sheary - Vladimir Sobotka - Alex Nylander
Zemgus Girgensons - Johan Larsson - Kyle Okposo
Lawrence Pilut - Brandon Montour
Rasmus Dahlin - William Borgen
Marco Scandella - Casey Nelson
Carter Hutton