Rangers vs. Islanders: 3 things to watch for as local rivals try to gain ground in playoff race
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders get together for their third meeting this season Monday night at Madison Square Garden and besides the chaotic nature of the race for an Eastern Conference wild-card spot, there is added intrigue since the NHL Trade Deadline is Friday.
The Rangers (30-26-4, 64 points) trail the Detroit Red Wings, holders of the second wild card in the East, by two points and are tied with the Ottawa Senators and Boston Bruins for ninth place. The Rangers are 3-1-0 in their past four games since an 8-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Feb. 22 and 14-7-3 since their nightmarish 4-15-0 skid.
New York had four different goal scorers in a 4-0 win over the Nashville Predators on Sunday. The Rangers are 19-3-3 when getting at least four goals and have scored at least that many in their past four wins and in seven of their past eight victories.
J.T. Miller stayed hot by finishing off a nifty Artemi Panarin pass for his sixth goal in 10 games since being acquired from the Vancouver Canucks on Jan. 31. Miller scored a second-period power-play goal 2:23 before K’Andre Miller scored their third goal to pretty much put the game Sunday out of reach.
Artemi Panarin scored on a slap shot in the first period and rookie Brett Berard scored in the third period after being recalled from Hartford of the American Hockey League.
The four goals were plenty for goalie Jonathan Quick, who earned his 63rd shutout in his 800th NHL game.
The Islanders (27-25-7, 61 points) face a more dire situation than their rivals, who outscored them 10-3 in winning the first two meetings this season, including a 5-1 win at UBS Arena last Tuesday. The Islanders are five points out of a playoff spot but also trail the Montreal Canadiens and Philadelphia Flyers and are 3-5-0 in their past eight games since a seven-game winning streak.
The Rangers made their fourth major trade over the weekend when they sent Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche for former Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan and center Jusso Parssinen. General manager Chris Drury’s strategy ahead of the deadline appears to involve selling pending unrestricted free agents such as Reilly Smith, who was held out Sunday for roster management.
The Islanders made one small trade earlier this season and GM Lou Lamoriello may be weighing whether to trade some of their pending free agents. Among them is Brock Nelson, who scored twice in a 7-4 win over the Predators on Saturday afternoon and has three goals and five assists during a five-game point streak.
The rivalry is always interesting, and the positions of both teams in the standings coupled with the timing of the trade deadline fast approaching adds another layer of interest.
Related: Winners, losers from Rangers’ 4-0 win against Predators
3 things to watch for when Rangers host Islanders
1. Can Igor Shesterkin match Ilya Sorokin’s goal?
The friendship between Shesterkin and Sorokin is well-known and perhaps even more so after Saturday. Sorokin was credited with an empty-net goal to become the 17th different goalie to score in an NHL game and joked about beating Shesterkin to the achievement.
Sorokin was credited with the goal after making a save and being the last Islanders player to touch the puck before Steven Stamkos misfired on a pass, sending the puck down the ice and into the Nashville net.
Shesterkin will be back in net after his misplay behind the net led to the Toronto Maple Leafs scoring the tiebreaking goal on Friday in a 3-2 Rangers loss. If the Islanders pull Sorokin for the extra attacker in the final minutes of the third, all eyes will be on Shesterkin whenever he gets the puck.
2. Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller clicking together
This season has been a difficult one for Mika Zibanejad, but his game is picking up since Miller joined the team Jan. 31 and became his linemate.
Zibanejad set up two goals and drew three penalties, including the tripping penalty on Jonathan Marchessault that led to J.T. Miller scoring on the power play against the Predators.
The veteran Rangers forward has three goals and six assists on a six-game point streak. Zibanejed also has four goals and 15 points in his past 10 games, most in the NHL since Feb. 1.
Despite the recent hot streak, Zibanejad has 13 goals and 31 assists this season, putting him on pace to finish with his fewest points in a full season since finishing with 47 in 2017-18.
Miller is riding a five-game point streak and has five multi-point games among the 10 he’s played since the trade with the Vancouver Canucks.
3. Matt Rempe to play, avoids hearing with NHL after elbowing penalty Sunday
Matt Rempe has played effectively and with growing confidence since returning from his eight-game suspension for a hit on Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen on Dec. 20. For the most part, he’s played smart hockey, while continuing to be aggressive and physical on the forecheck.
The towering 23-year-old forward nearly crossed that line Sunday. Rempe was handed a two-minute elbowing penalty for connecting with the head of Nashville defenseman Nick Blankenburg four minutes into the first period.
Because of Rempe’s history, which also includes a four-game suspension last season, there was reason for the Rangers to be concerned about this hit. However, the NHL Department of Player Safety elected not to hold a hearing with Rempe and he should be in the Rangers lineup Monday.
It’ll be interesting to see if Rempe plays even more cautiously Monday after the close call against Nashville. Or if he’s any worse for wear after a rousing fight with Nashville defenseman Andreas Englund that left both combatants bloodied after the hit on Blankenburg.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – J.T. Miller- Zibanejad
Othmann – Parssinen – Brodzinski
Berard – Carrick – Rempe
K. Miller – Borgen
Vaakanainen – Schneider
Jones – de Haan
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Islanders: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. New York Rangers
When: Monday, March 3 at 7 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to watch: MSG
More About:New York Rangers News