When the Islanders play host to the Stars, they’ll get Mikhail Grabovski back. He sat out the previous three games after getting walled by Sharks forward John Scott. That’s the good news. The bad is they’ll be without Josh Bailey, who suffered a broken left hand in their 3-2 win over the Bruins Thursday.

“(Bailey) was our best forward in the first period (Thursday), and over the last three or four games he’s been really good for us,” coach Jack Capuano said. “It’s just very unfortunate that this has to take place now, but it’s going to give other guys an opportunity to step up.”

Bailey set up Frans Nielsen’s first of the season. It set the tone for a good road win at Boston, ending a two-game skid. After struggling last season, Bailey was off to a nice start tallying two goals and two assists in a supporting role. He’ll be out several weeks after getting slashed in the second period.

With Grabovski returning, he can slide in for Bailey and help offset the loss. The Islanders are still minus penalty kill ace Michael Grabner. The dangerous shorthanded threat is still recovering from sports hernia surgery.

Meanwhile, top defenseman Travis Hamonic is day-to-day with an upper-body injury. Lubomir Visnovsky came back Thursday and finished minus-one in 21 shifts (17:50 TOI). Thus far, key acquisitions Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy have solidified the blueline. Each has been instrumental in the Isles’ 5-2-0 start. Boychuk leads Islander defensemen in points (6) and plus/minus (5) while providing steady D. Leddy paces the back end in goals (3) and is 3-2-5 with a plus-four rating.

The Isles have also gotten a boost from Chad Johnson. Facing his former team, Johnson made 30 saves including a couple of money ones late to preserve the one-goal win against the Bruins. He’s 2-0-0 with a 2.15 goals-against-average and .918 save percentage. Starter Jaroslav Halak should be back in tonight against the Stars. UPDATE: Scratch that. It looks like Johnson gets the start again. Fresh off a 3-2 shootout win over the Devils last night, Dallas coach might opt for backup Anders Lindback in a back-to-back. If he starts in place of Kari Lehtonen, it should be advantage Isles.
The Islanders will have their work cut out against the Stars’ potent trio of Jamie Benn, Jason Spezza and Tyler Seguin. One of the game’s most lethal top lines, they’ve combined for 10 goals and 16 assists to spark them to a 4-1-2 start. With a goal Friday, Benn extended his goal-scoring streak to five. Over that span, the Dallas captain has nine points (5-4-9) and is plus-seven. Spezza has eight points in his last four. Scariest is Seguin, who is 5-6-11 and plus-six during that stretch.

It should be a good test. Can the Islanders take advantage of a road weary opponent? Stay tuned.