Tonight, the New York Rangers (30-26-4) return to Madison Square Garden for a highly anticipated New York matchup against the New York Islanders (27-25-7) at 7 p.m. ET.
The Blueshirts have six victories in their last nine games, including three out of four of their last six contests. The Rangers have won both previous meetings with their rivals from Long Island this season, including a dominant 5-1 victory on Feb. 25.
Broadway Blueshirts are coming off a strong 4-0 win against the Nashville Predators last night, where veteran goalie Jonathan Quick stood on his head, stopping all 35 shots for a shutout in his 800th career game. Meanwhile, the Islanders enter the game on a two-game winning streak, most recently defeating Nashville 7-4 on March 1.
As we head into tonight’s matchup, the starting goaltenders are Igor Shesterkin for the Rangers, who holds a 20-21-2 record, and Ilya Sorokin for the Islanders, with a 22-18-4 record. Key players to watch include Artemi Panarin, who has recorded 61 points this season with 24 goals and 37 assists, and J.T. Miller, who has contributed six goals and six assists for 12 points since his return to the Rangers. Mika Zibanejad also has a point streak of six games (3G-6A), 15 points in his last 10 games (4G-11A).
For the Islanders, forward Brock Nelson scored two goals in their recent 7-4 victory over the Nashville Predators. Right wing Kyle Palmieri, a consistent contributor, also found the back of the net in that win.
The Rangers remain without Chris Kreider and Adam Fox, both on injured reserve with upper-body injuries. The Islanders have not reported any major injuries.
Both teams are looking to build momentum in the wildcard race, with the Rangers currently sitting two spots out and the Islanders five spots away. That makes tonight’s matchup at Madison Square Garden a crucial one as both teams fight to stay in contention.
Rangers projected lineup
Offense
Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle — J.T. Miller — Mika Zibanejad
Brennan Othmann — Juuso Parssinen — Jonny Brodzinski
Brett Berard — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe
Defense
K’Andre Miller — Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen — Braden Schneider
Calvin de Haan — Zac Jones
Goalie
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Scratched: Reilly Smith, Matthew Robertson, Arthur Kaliyev
Injured: Adam Fox (upper body), Chris Kreider (upper body), Adam Edstrom (lower body)
Islanders projected lineup
Offense
Anders Lee — Bo Horvat — Jean-Gabriel Pageau
Simon Holmstrom — Brock Nelson — Kyle Palmieri
Hudson Fasching — Casey Cizikas — Maxim Tsyplakov
Kyle MacLean — Marc Gatcomb
Defense
Alexander Romanov — Tony DeAngelo
Adam Pelech — Noah Dobson
Scott Mayfield — Ryan Pulock
Goalie
Adam Boqvist
Ilya Sorokin
Jakub Skarek
Scratched: Anthony Duclair, Scott Perunovich, Pierre Engvall
Injured: Mathew Barzal (lower body), Matt Martin (lower body), Marcus Hogberg (upper body) Semyon Varlamov (lower body), Mike Reilly (heart surgery)
