Rangers vs Islanders in Crucial Battle of New York

With both teams on the outside looking in – the Rangers and Islanders will play a crucial game as each team nears the final wildcard position (7:30PM on MSG).

Rangers	Rankings	Islanders
28-25-4	Record	25-24-7
20th	League Rank	23rd
14th	Goals For	26th
22nd	Goals Against	14th
17th	Power play	32nd
4th	Penalty Kill	31st

Previous Games

The Blueshirts are coming off a weekend where they played some very concerning hockey. In their first game back from the Four Nations break on Saturday, the Rangers were defeated 8-2 by the Buffalo Sabres. They allowed five goals in the first period to the 29th best team in the NHL.

The following night the Rangers found a way to win 5-3, but with some better goaltending, the Penguins would have won the game in which they dominated. After two periods the Rangers were being outshot 32-9 and they went about three quarters of the second period without a shot on goal.

“You guys all saw it,” said defenseman Ryan Lindgren. “We were in the D zone the entire time. We were giving them chance after chance. Everything about it was awful.”

Luckily, they escaped by the skin of their teeth and won the game 5-3. J.T. Miller recorded two goals and two assists between both games as he continues to be a very welcomed addition to the lineup.

“We need to win games right now, first and foremost, which we did tonight,” Lindgren said. “But that’s not a recipe for winning games. We’ve got another big one on Tuesday, a team we’re battling with in the standings right now, so we’ve got to play a heck of a lot better.”

Rangers vs Islanders

Tuesday night’s game will be an important one in the standings for both teams. For the Rangers, they can find themselves tied for the final wildcard position if other games around the league go the right way. Ottawa and Columbus are tied for the final wild card position with 62 points. Ottawa is idle on Tuesday while the Blue Jackets play the Dallas Stars. The Bruins who sit at 61 points host the Maple Leafs.

The Islanders on the other hand are three points behind the Rangers with 57 points and a win could put them just three points shy of the final playoff spot. Unfortunately for the Islanders, they are plagued with injuries to many key guys including Mathew Barzal, Noah Dobson, and Semyon Varlamov.

After losing Dobson to injury, the Islanders brought over former Ranger Tony DeAngelo from the KHL. DeAngelo’s time ended infamously in Manhattan after getting into an altercation with former netminder Alex Georgiev. DeAngelo, now seen as a villain to Rangers fans, has five points in nine games and he now quarterbacks the Islanders top power play.

Leading the Islanders in points are Anders Lee and Bo Horvat – each with 41 points on the season. Lee’s 23 goals lead the team.

Brock Nelson was the lone player to represent the Islanders at the Four Nations tournament. Nelson featured in all four games on the fourth line for Team USA. Nelson has 36 points on the season.

Ilya Sorokin will get the start for the Islanders. Sorokin is 20-17-4 with a .907 save percentage on the season.

Sorokin’s best friend Igor Shesterkin will be back in goal for the Rangers after a 37-save performance in Pittsburgh. Shesterkin is 19-20-2 with a .903 save percentage on the season.

Chris Kreider is listed as a game-time decision on Tuesday night. Kreider was the last skater on the ice which usually indicates who the scratch will be. The veteran winger did not play in Pittsburgh.

Head coach Peter Laviolette would not comment on Kreider’s status. If Kreider is unavailable, former first-round selection Brennan Othmann would make his season debut. The 22-year-old currently has 20 points in 27 games in the AHL. Othmann played three games last season for the Rangers.

Zac Jones returned from a conditioning stint to the AHL, but he will likely be a healthy scratch on Tuesday. Matthew Robertson who was serving as the team’s extra defender has been assigned back to Hartford in the AHL.