While most teams are settling into some semblance of their postseason lineups, the Islanders still don’t know who is going to be available and who might play when the games matter the most.

That includes who coach Jack Capuano wants to play defense. Twenty-one-year-old rookie Ryan Pulock has shown himself to be a valuable offensive tool, but he was a healthy scratch the past two games and five of the past eight as Capuano’s team prepared for John Tortorella and Blue Jackets to come to Barclays Center on Thursday night.

“[Pulock] knows that when he first got here, when I talked to him, you’re going to play some games and you’re going to be in and out,” Capuano said Monday, his team now in the first wild-card spot, three points behind the third-place Penguins and four points clear of the Flyers for the second wild-card spot. Philadelphia will host to the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Capitals on Wednesday night.

“It’s a great experience for him, just being able to practice with our guys, working on his feet,” Capuano said of Pulock, who has played 10 NHL games this season. “He’s still a young kid. That’s what it’s about, too. I just like the fact that he’s getting better every day. That’s a big thing for me.”

Playing instead of Pulock has been Brian Strait, while 39-year-old veteran Marek Zidlicky tries to come back from injury to add an element of offense — as well as defensive liability.

Capuano also has to try to weave winger Mikhail Grabovski back into the lineup when he is ready to return from his concussion, which might come sometime before the regular season is up. Grabovski has started skating again.

Regular starting goalie Jaroslav Halak could be ready to return from his groin injury in about three weeks, sometime in the middle of the first round, but if Capuano would use him then depends heavily on how Thomas Greiss and Jean-Francois Berube do in his place.