St. Louis Blues at New York Islanders [Game 45]

The New York Islanders are set to take on the St. Louis Blues in an inter-conference matchup that pits a couple of teams vying for bottom seeding in the playoffs against each other. The Islanders took a huge hit by losing to the rival New York Rangers and looked to be in trouble before rebounding and blitzing the Tampa Bay Lightning five to one last game. The Blues looked to be dead in the water, but are riding a three game winning streak and can slide into a spot if they win their games in hand. It should be a good one tonight in Brooklyn.

The Islanders will turn back to Robin Lehner tonight after Thomas Greiss had a large workload against the Lightning. Greiss faced 38 shots and stopped 37 off them in that one. Lehner has been hot as of late, but the Rangers game was a bit of a letdown as he let in two of 26 against a sub-par Rangers team. It was an above-average performance, but beneath where he had been so far this season (though the team in front of him did not exactly play well).

The Blues meanwhile will turn to rookie netminder Jordan Binnington who is riding his rookie wave to a lot of success so far this season. Binnington has a .941 save percentage so far in five starts and is a huge reason the Blues have rebounded. Jake Allen was supposed to be the Blues answer in net, but he has been a tremendous letdown and is the prime reason the Blues are stuck clawing for that final spot in the west.

No lineup changes are expected tonight. Ross Johnston and Tom Kuhnhackl will make up the healthy scratches at forward while Luc Sbisa is will watch from the press box on defense. Game time is at 7:00 P.M. E.S.T.