Dallas @ New York preview

Last Meeting ( Dec 7, 2019 ) NY Islanders 1, Dallas 3

The Dallas Stars have come out of the All-Star break in good order and will try to complete a three-game sweep of the Metropolitan New York teams when they visit the Islanders on Tuesday. Dallas won at New Jersey 3-2 in overtime on Saturday before defeating the Rangers 5-3 on Monday and moved into second place in the Central Division after winning three of their four games since the break.

While the Stars are eight points clear for a playoff berth, the Islanders are clinging to the second wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference - one point behind Philadelphia and one ahead of Carolina and Toronto. New York came out of the break with a 4-3 overtime loss to Vancouver on Saturday and is 2-3-3 in its last eight games. "This is going to be a long stretch,'' Islanders captain Anders Lee told reporters. "It's not going to be easy and it's that grind that makes this so much more exciting and so much more rewarding when you put yourself in a good position to end the season. I think that's what makes this all so great. We'll find energy when we need it." Dallas prevailed in the first of two meetings this season 3-1 on Dec. 7 behind 34 saves by Ben Bishop, and a goal and an assist from Alexander Radulov.

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southwest, MSG Plus

ABOUT THE STARS (30-18-4): Joe Pavelski scored a pair of power-play goals 16 seconds apart Monday and has three of his 11 goals this season in the last two games. Roope Hintz, who shares the team lead in goals (15) with Radulov, returned Monday after missing two contests with an upper-body injury and had a shot on goal in 11 minutes, 57 seconds of ice time. Bishop (18-11-3, .925 save percentage) is expected in goal Tuesday, seeking his third win in four starts, after Anton Khudobin stopped 33 shots versus the Rangers.

ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (29-15-6): Jordan Eberle has scored five of his eight goals this season in the last nine games after lighting the lamp against Vancouver. Josh Bailey has recorded seven of his 31 points and three of his 11 goals in the past six contests. Semyon Varlamov is expected to start Tuesday, according to Newsday, and will try to snap a four-game losing streak (17 goals allowed) after Thomas Greiss started the three previous contests.

OVERTIME

1. Dallas on Monday scored more than three goals for the first time in 10 games, going 6-4-0 during that span.

2. New York is sixth in least goals allowed per game at 2.68 after yielding an NHL-low 2.33 last season.

3. The Stars on Monday went 2-for-4 on the power play after going 0-for-14 in their previous five games while the penalty-killing unit went 0-for-3 versus the Rangers, dropping from sixth to 11th in the league.

PREDICTION: Islanders 3, Stars 2