Rangers host angry Islanders in bitter rematch
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders will look to write another exciting installment in their bitter rivalry at Madison Square Garden on Sunday.
Fans of both teams waited months for them to clash this season and were given a memorable contest at MetLife Stadium on February 18. It was a dream comeback for the Blueshirts, who stormed the Islanders in the third period with two late goals and then promptly won it in overtime 6-5.
Artemi Panarin was the OT hero in that contest and is coming off a five point game (two goals, three assists) in Pittsburgh on Saturday, when the Rangers defeated the Penguins 7-4.
The Islanders fell to the Ottawa Senators 4-3 in overtime Saturday and have lost three in a row (0-2-1) after a six-game winning streak.
Islanders coach Patrick Roy was not pleased with their efforts, letting them hear about it postgame.
“We just gave that game away, that’s all we did,” Roy said. “I mean, come on. We are better than this. We have to be better than this.”
The Rangers should expect a very angry and desperate Islanders squad coming into the Garden. It would have been nice to have Matt Rempe in the lineup, but he’s serving the final game of a four-game suspension for elbowing New Jersey Devils defenseman Jonas Siegenthaler in the head Monday. Additionally, defenseman Jacob Trouba remains sidelined for 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury.
Here’s today’s game and broadcast info:
New York Rangers (44-19-4) vs New York Islanders (29-22-15)
Date/Time: March 17, 2024 @ 1:00 PM ET
Arena: Madison Square Garden
TV: TNT
Radio: ESPN 98.7 FM
Note: Subject to change, updated for each game
Related: College free agents the Rangers should target
New York Rangers projected lineup
Here’s the expected lineup:
Kreider – Zibanejad – Roslovic
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Wennberg – Kakko
Vesey – Goodrow – Brodzinski
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Schneider
Jones – Gustafsson
Shesterkin
Quick
Update: Forward Adam Edstrom was reassigned to Hartford of the American Hockey League on Sunday. Head coach Peter Laviolette will address the media at 10:40 a.m. ET. Check back for updates.
New York Rangers vs New York Islanders
The Rangers are up to 92 points and maintain a four-point lead in the Metropolitan Division over the Carolina Hurricanes (88 points), who rallied to beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in a shootout on Saturday. Meanwhile, the Tampa Bay Lightning did the Rangers a favor after defeating them on Thursday by handing the Florida Panthers a loss. The Blueshirts are now two points behind the Cats and three behind the Boston Bruins (95 points) for the Presidents’ Trophy.
Meanwhile, the Islanders are on the outside looking in for the last wild card berth in the Eastern Conference after the Detroit Red Wings (74 points each) moved one point ahead of them.
A look at the Blueshirts shows they are one of the hottest teams in the NHL with 15 wins in their past 19 games (15-3-1).
“I think just building an atmosphere of playing playoff hockey,” defenseman K’Andre Miller noted. “It’s going to be huge. Doing it now, and having it translate into the playoffs is in the goal.”
This is the second of four meetings between the rivals with the Rangers and Islanders set to battle again April 9 at UBS Arena and April 13 at the Garden, with a chance they could meet in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Upcoming Rangers Milestones
- Chris Kreider is 2 goals aways from 300 in his career
- Jonathan Quick is 1 win away from tying Ryan Miller (391) for most wins by an American-born goalie
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