Clashes between the New York Islanders and New York Rangers don’t need any extra drama or intrigue.
But there’ll be plenty of both on Tuesday night, when the Islanders host the Rangers for the first time this season in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams were off Monday after playing Sunday. The Islanders returned from the 4 Nations Face-Off break with a 4-3 loss to the visiting Dallas Stars while the Rangers completed a back-to-back road set by coming back to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3.
The results Sunday ratcheted up the urgency for the Islanders, who have lost three straight and are five points behind the Ottawa Senators and Columbus Blue Jackets in the race for the final wild card in the Eastern Conference.
The Islanders also slipped three points behind the Rangers, who are in sole possession of 11th place in the East. The Islanders have a game in hand on the Rangers, Senators and Blue Jackets.
The Islanders, who played Sunday for the first time since Feb. 8, fell behind on Sam Steel’s goal 2:10 into the first period and were outshot 9-8 in the opening 20 minutes before outshooting the Stars 29-20 the rest of the way. But Dallas took control when Jason Robertson scored twice in a span of 95 seconds after New York’s Casey Cizikas was assessed a match penalty for delivering a check to the head of Lian Bichsel.
“Thought we played a really good 50 minutes, to be honest,” said Islanders defenseman Tony DeAngelo, who played four seasons with the Rangers from 2017 through 2021. “It’s a shame. A game I thought we could at least get a point out of. That’s frustrating, but got to bounce back next game.”
The Rangers may have averted a crisis with a third-period bounce-back Sunday. After returning to action Saturday with an 8-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres — the last-place team in the Eastern Conference — the Rangers fell behind 3-2 when the Penguins’ Ryan Shea scored twice in the first 3:31 of the third.
Jimmy Vesey tied the score at 4:21 and Adam Fox collected the game-winner with 8:34 left before J.T. Miller added an empty-netter in the final 10 seconds for the Rangers, who won despite being outshot 39-16. The 16 shots were the fewest for the Rangers in a win since they had 16 shots in a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes on March 23, 2023.
“We need to win games right now, first and foremost,” said Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren, who assisted on Miller’s insurance goal. “But that’s not a recipe for winning games. We’ve got another big one on Tuesday (against) a team we’re battling with in the standings right now. So yeah, we’ve got to play a heck of a lot better, for sure.”
The Rangers won Sunday despite the last-minute absence of left winger Chris Kreider, who took warmups before being scratched with an upper-body injury.
The Islanders, who got defensemen Scott Mayfield and Ryan Pulock back from injuries Sunday, may be able to add another blueliner to the mix Tuesday when Noah Dobson is eligible to come off long-term injured reserve.
–Field Level Media
