Rangers vs. Islanders: Lineups, storylines for 1st game after Christmas break
It’s back to work for the New York Rangers on Saturday, who come off the three-day NHL Christmas break with a road game against their arch-rival New York Islanders at UBS Arena.
It’s a big game for both teams. The Rangers (19-16-4) are two points behind the third-place Islanders (20-13-4) in the Metropolitan Division, and the Isles have two games in hand. The Blueshirts are 5-4-0 against division opponents, including a 5-0 shutout loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 8. Their Long Island rivals are 5-4-2 against Metro teams, including a 2-1 come-from-behind win over the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday in their final game before the break.
The Rangers also rallied for a big victory ahead of the holiday break, scoring five goals in the third period to skate past the Washington Capitals 7-3. They’ve won three of their past four games overall, and are 1-1-0 two games into six straight on the road. The Rangers (14-6-1) lead the NHL in road wins and are second with 29 points in away games.
They have eight wins in their past 10 games against the Islanders, and swept all four games in the season series a year ago. Their most recent visit to UBA Arena was a memorable one. The Rangers scored a season-high nine goals in a 9-2 victory over the Islanders on April 10.
3 storylines when Rangers visit Islanders
1. Nyet
The Rangers catch a break and won’t face Ilya Sorokin on Saturday, after the Islanders placed their No. 1 goalie on injured reserve earlier in the day. Sorokin is tied for second in the NHL with three shutouts, including his 33-save blanking of the Blueshirts back in November. The 30-year-old last played eight days ago has a “nagging” undisclosed injury.
David Rittich gets the call for the Islanders with Sorokin out and is 3-0-0 with a 1.00 goals-against average in three career starts against the Rangers.
Igor Shesterkin is the Rangers starting goalie Saturday, though that briefly appeared to be in question after he took an errant shot up high that hit him in the mask/neck area. However, coach Mike Sullivan confirmed that Shesterkin is fine and will start. He’s 9-9-1 all-time against the Islanders with a 2.76 GAA.
2. Injury updates
Adam Fox participated again in the Rangers morning skate, wearing a no-contact sweater, but their No. 1 defenseman remains out and on LTIR with an upper-body injury. Fox misses his 13th straight game Saturday, though appears close to a lineup return.
Rangers captain J.T. Miller is week to week with an upper-body injury, and isn’t skating with the team.
Though Sorokin is out, the Islanders received good news about leading scorer Bo Horvat. The 30-year-old forward returns for the Islanders after he missed five games with a lower-body injury. Horvat, who scored twice against the Rangers earlier in the season, is tied for 13th in the NHL with 19 goals and also has a team-high 31 points in 32 games.
3. Serving Bread on Long Island
Artemi Panarin has 18 goals and 47 points in 39 games against the Islanders, and scored twice in that 9-2 victory last April. He has 20 points (eight goals, 12 assists) in his past 13 games against the Isles, including a four-point game and two three-point efforts.
Entering play Saturday, Panarin leads the Rangers with 14 goals and 38 points in 38 games. He had a goal and assist against the Capitals before the break, and has 10 multiple-point games this season.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Artemi Panarin — Mika Zibanejad — Alexis Lafreniere
Jonny Brodzinski — Vincent Trocheck — Gabe Perreault
Will Cuylle — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh
Brennan Othmann — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov — Braden Schneider
Carson Soucy — Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson — Scott Morrow
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Rangers vs. Islanders: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders
When: Saturday, Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. ET
Where: UBS Arena
How to watch: MSG 2
