The Lightning's injury list is mostly down the middle. Yanni Gourde (hip) is on the injured non-roster list and Dominic James (hand) is on IR, which leaves Tampa thin at center behind Cirelli. On the back end, Emil Lilleberg (undisclosed) was ruled out on October 5 and expected to miss about a week, so he's right on the edge of a return for this one. Whether he plays decides how much the Lightning have to lean on Carlson and the top pairs.
The best storyline on the Islanders' side is in net. Semyon Varlamov started against the Rangers on October 6, his first start in 676 days, after 2 partial knee replacements. With Ilya Sorokin as the No. 1, Long Island suddenly has a real 1-2 tandem again, and which of them faces Andrei Vasilevskiy on Saturday is worth watching. Sorokin against Vasilevskiy is the matchup the building wants to see.
In style, this is Tampa's structure against a home team that has kept the puck out of its own net at UBS so far. The Lightning have given up 1 or 2 goals in each of their 3 wins. Getting 3 past a rested Islanders goalie in a loud building is harder than doing it at home in front of their own fans. The Islanders' issue is the other end. Outside the Devils rout, goals have been hard to come by.
Puck drop is 7:30 PM ET. The schedule gives Tampa its first road test since the Rangers loss, and the Islanders a chance to show their home start wasn't just a soft opponent on opening night. It's a good early-October read on both clubs.