Penguins at Islanders preview

PENGUINS (12-10-6) at ISLANDERS (14-11-3)
7 p.m. ET; SN, TVAS, MSG+, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV

The Islanders will play their second of 21 games at the Coliseum this season. They rallied for a 3-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Dec. 1.

Players to watch

Penguins goalie Casey DeSmith is 5-1-1 with a 2.28 goals-against average and .923 save percentage in his past seven starts. Pittsburgh is 8-3-4 in DeSmith's past 15 starts.
Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock has three points (one goal, two assists) in his past four games.

They said it

"I think now everybody is so tight, but I think when you lose a guy like (John Tavares), it's pretty tough to fill that hole. So I think definitely the guys that they've brought in and guys that have played for them in the past that have stepped up … they played a really good, solid team game. They don't give you a lot. I think they work together and that's why they've been successful." -- Penguins captain Sidney Crosby
"I've played them a lot of games where you feel like you're dominating them and dominating, and all of a sudden, out they come and they cash in on a mistake or a poor decision. So you've got to limit your decisions, you're going to have to get good goaltending, you're going to have to make sure that you limit those mistakes. You limit the opportunities that they have in those areas and if you do, you're going to have a chance." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz

Penguins projected lineup

Jake Guentzel -- Sidney Crosby -- Phil Kessel
Tanner Pearson -- Evgeni Malkin -- Bryan Rust
Riley Sheahan -- Derick Brassard -- Zach Aston-Reese
Garrett Wilson -- Derek Grant -- Jean-Sebastien Dea
Brian Dumoulin -- Kris Letang
Olli Maatta -- Jamie Oleksiak
Marcus Pettersson -- Jack Johnson
Casey DeSmith
Tristan Jarry
Scratched:Chad Ruhwedel, Juuso Riikola
Injured:Matt Murray (lower body), Justin Schultz (left leg fracture), Matt Cullen (lower body), Dominik Simon (lower body), Patric Hornqvist (upper body)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Ross Johnston -- Valtteri Filppula -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Hickey -- Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech -- Scott Mayfield
Robin Lehner
Thomas Greiss
Scratched:Luca Sbisa, Joshua Ho-Sang, Tom Kuhnhackl
Injured:Andrew Ladd (lower body)

Status report

Penguins coach Mike Sullivan confirmed Hornqvist, who skated in the morning, will not play and remains day to day. Hornqvist was injured in Pittsburgh's 6-2 win against the Islanders on Dec. 6. … Cullen, who hasn't played since Nov. 17, practiced for the first time in a non-contact fashion and is "making significant progress," according to Sullivan. Murray practiced as well. "They're all getting close," Sullivan said. … Ho-Sang, who was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Sunday, stayed on the ice after an optional morning skate, a sign he will not play.

Stat pack

Pittsburgh is 48-56-11 at Nassau Coliseum. … Kessel has an eight-game point streak against New York (13 points; three goals, 10 assists). … New York is 11-1-1 when it scores at least three goals.