CHICAGO -- The New York Islanders will be without goalie Jaroslav Halak when they face the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Tuesday.

Halak is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and did not make the trip. Goalie Kevin Poulin was recalled from Bridgeport of the American Hockey League on Tuesday under emergency conditions and will back up Michal Neuvirth.

New York is also without defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky, who is day-to-day with a lower-body injury and didn't make the trip. Defenseman Nick Leddy (upper body) skated but will miss his fourth straight game.

"We've got to get through this," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said after the morning skate. "We've got a lot of key guys out of our lineup, especially two defensemen and [Halak] now too. Just stay the course, fundamental hockey, that's all we can preach to our guys. Try to play the right way and give other guys an opportunity."

Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville is sending a message of a different nature to his team, using playing time and lineup changes as motivational tactics. The latest player to get a warning shot from Quenneville is forward Kris Versteeg, who came into the morning skate not knowing whether he'd play against the Islanders.

Versteeg, who'd been playing left wing on the top line, skated outside the top four lines at practice Monday. He was headed down the same path as forward Bryan Bickell, whom Quenneville scratched against the New York Rangers on March 8, but got a reprieve along with a demotion to right wing on the third line.

"We said that [Monday] that he could play," Quenneville said. "We'll see how things go today."

Quenneville said Monday that Versteeg didn't play well in the Blackhawks' 6-2 victory at the San Jose Sharks on March 14. He wants Versteeg to be faster up ice against teams looking to slow up Chicago's rush game and be more direct to the net.

Versteeg didn't talk to reporters after the skate, but met with the media Monday and vowed to improve. At that point, it looked like he wouldn't play.

"It is what it is," Versteeg said. "I guess when you play [bad] you're not going to play. I just have to try to work hard and get back in."

Versteeg missed six weeks with a broken bone in his left hand after blocking a shot during the 2015 Bridgestone NHL Winter Classic on New Year's Day. He scored four goals in his first seven games back in the lineup, but hasn't scored in seven games since.

Corresponding with Versteeg moving down the lineup, Quenneville is putting forward Patrick Sharp back on the top line with captain Jonathan Toews and right wing Marian Hossa. They played much of last year together, with good results, and started this season together for the first six games.

The other big storyline was Leddy's initial return to Chicago after the preseason trade that sent him to the Islanders in a move to become compliant with the NHL salary cap of $69 million. It created a void in Chicago's defense that has yet to be filled.

Meanwhile, the Islanders recently signed Leddy to a seven-year contract.

"Leaving the guys you won a Stanley Cup with and guys that really had become like a family, it did sting, but I had new experience and it's been awesome so far," said Leddy, who hoisted the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013. "The guys on the Islanders welcomed me with open arms and I've never looked back."

Here are the projected lineups:

ISLANDERS

Josh Bailey – John Tavares – Kyle Okposo

Nikolay Kulemin – Frans Nielsen – Tyler Kennedy

Anders Lee – Brock Nelson - Ryan Strome

Matt Martin – Casey Cizikas- Cal Clutterbuck

Calvin de Haan – Travis Hamonic

Thomas Hickey – Johnny Boychuk

Brian Strait – Matt Donovan

Michal Neuvirth

Kevin Poulin

Scratched: Michael Grabner, Eric Boulton, Colin McDonald

Injured: Nick Leddy (upper body), Mikhail Grabovski (upper body), Jaroslav Halak (lower body), Lubomir Visnovsky (lower body)

BLACKHAWKS

Patrick Sharp – Jonathan Toews – Marian Hossa

Brandon Saad – Antoine Vermette – Teuvo Teravainen

Bryan Bickell – Brad Richards – Kris Versteeg

Andrew Desjardins – Marcus Kruger – Andrew Shaw

Johnny Oduya – Niklas Hjalmarsson

Duncan Keith- Michal Rozsival

Kimmo Timonen – Brent Seabrook

Corey Crawford

Scott Darling

Scratched: Daniel Carcillo, Joakim Nordstrom, David Rundblad

Injured: Patrick Kane (fractured clavicle)

Status report: Versteeg and Carcillo alternated at right wing on the third line in the skate, but Quenneville gave the nod to Versteeg when asked afterward.

Who's hot: Sharp broke a 19-game goal drought with two goals against the Sharks for his first multi-goal game of the season.