MattMartin
Killer Instinct™
Game Preview: Rangers AT Islanders
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS (35-20-6) VS NEW YORK RANGERS (33-24-4)
7 PM | NYCB LIVE | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSG+ 2 | MSG GO
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
7 PM | NYCB LIVE | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSG+ 2 | MSG GO
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050AM
The finale of the Battle of New York commences at NYCB Live on Tuesday evening.
The Isles face their cross-town rival after earning their second straight victory as they defeated the San Jose Sharks 4-1 on Sunday evening at NYCB Live. Anders Lee scored two goals and registered an assist while Devon Toews and Josh Bailey also scored. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 29 shots.
The New York Rangers won their third straight game in regulation as they defeated San Jose 3-2 on Saturday night. Jesper Fast scored twice, including the game winner, and Mika Zibanejad also found the back of net while Igor Shesterkin made 44 saves.
ISLES VS. RANGERS:
The Isles have gone 1-2-0 against the Rangers this season. The previous three meetings occurred within a nine-day span from Jan. 13 to Jan. 21.
The Rangers claimed the first two meetings, while the Isles defeated the Rangers 4-2 at Madison Square Garden in the final game before the All-Star Break. Josh Bailey, Anders Lee, Anthony Beauvillier and Brock Nelson scored while Thomas Greiss made 40 saves in the Isles win.
ISLES NOTES:
- The Isles captain potted his 18th and 19th goals of the season and had the opportunity to record his first-ever hat trick, but opted to pass the puck to Bailey for the empty-net goal with just over two minutes left in the game. Through 61 games, Lee has 38 points (19G, 19A) and has five points (2G, 3A) in his last two outings. With Lee's second goal of the game, the winger overtook the Isles lead for game-winning goals with six.
- Toews reached a new career-high in goals as he rifled in his sixth of the season on Sunday. The defenseman also recorded an assist on the night and now has 24 points (6G, 18A) through 61 games.
- Bailey scored his 13th goal of the season to seal the 4-1 victory. The winger has 39 points (13G, 26A) through 61 games.
- Brock Nelson extended his point streak to three games with an assist on Sunday and has four points (1G, 3A) during that span. Nelson has 49 points (22G, 27A) through 61 games, which ranks second on the Islanders.
- Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to three games - where he has four assists during that span - and is now one point shy of reaching 200-career points. The 22-year-old center has 199 career points (58G, 141A) through 227 career games, and would become the fastest Islander to reach 200 points since Ziggy Palffy, who did so in 205 games. Through 61 games this season, Barzal leads the Isles with his 52 points and 32 assists.
- Varlamov made his 35th start of the season - and fifth straight start - and improved his record to 19-12-4. The Russian netminder has a 2.47 goals against average and a .920 save percentage.
- Barry Trotz recorded his 82 win as Isles coach, passing Terry Simpson for 3rd place on the all-time Isles win list.
- Kieffer Bellows returned to the lineup and had two shots on goal and logged 12:44 as he skated alongside Josh Bailey and Michael Dal Colle. Bellows was returned on loan to Bridgeport on Monday.
- Sunday's win put the Isles (76 points) one-point behind third place in the Metropolitan Division, which is currently occupied by Philadelphia (77 points). However, the Isles have one game-in-hand on the Flyers. They are currently tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets (76 points) with three games in hand.
- On Monday morning, the Isles acquired center Jean-Gabriel Pageau from the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a conditional first-round pick in the 2020 NHL Draft, the club's second-round pick in 2020 and a conditional third-round pick in 2022. Pageau has already recorded career highs in goals (24), power-play points (nine) and game-winning goals (five). He has a total of 40 points (24 goals and 16 assists) in 60 games this season. The 27-year-old center signed a six-year contract extension with the team that afternoon.
- Andrew Ladd and Cal Clutterbuck were recalled from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers on Monday. Ladd, who has played two games for the Isles this season and 34 for the Sound Tigers, is expected to stay with the Islanders for the remainder of the season, while Clutterbuck completed a two-game conditioning assignment. Clutterbuck has been out since Dec. 19 with a wrist laceration.
- Otto Koivula was returned and recalled from Bridgeport on Monday afternoon in a procedural transaction that allows him to be eligible for the rest of the AHL season and playoffs.
- The Rangers have shot up the Eastern Conference standings over the past month, going 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. The Rangers (70 points) are still in the playoff picture, as they sit six points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets for the second Wild Card, with three games in hand. The Carolina Hurricanes (74 points) stand between the Rangers and Blue Jackets in the race for the final playoff position.
- Fast scored his 10th and 11th goals of the season and now has three goals in his last two games. The Swedish winger has 27 points (11G, 16A) and one game-winning goal through 60 games.
- Zibanejad scored his 28th goal of the season and extended his point streak to seven games. The Swedish center has 13 points (6G, 7A) during that span. Through 48 games this season, Zibanejad has 60 points (28G, 32A) and is second in goals and points.
- Artemi Panarin registered the primary assist on Zibanejad's goal. The Russian center leads the Rangers in goals (31), assists (52) and points (83) through 60 games this season. Panarin's 83 points are third best in the NHL. With the assist, Panarin extended his point streak to nine games and has 12 points (4G, 8A) during that span.
- Ryan Strome registered two assists against San Jose and extended his point streak to eight games where he has 11 points (4G, 7A) during that stretch. The former Islander is having a career season with 55 points (16G, 39A) through 61 games. Strome's previous high was 50 points, set during the 2014-15 season with the Isles.
- Defenseman Tony DeAngelo's 45 points (13G, 32A) through 59 games are tied for the sixth-most among blueliners in the NHL.
- Shesterkin, the Rangers' rookie netminder earned his ninth win and improved his record to 9-1-0. Shesterkin made his 10th start of the season and has a 2.23 GAA and a .940 SV%.
- Rangers President John Davidson announced that Shesterkin and forward Pavel Buchnevich were in a car accident on Sunday. Shesterkin sustained a broken rib and will be evaluated in two weeks. Buchnevich is day-to-day.
- Alexandar Georgiev will start in goal for the Rangers on Tuesday night. Georgiev has appeared in all three Isles-Rangers games this season and is 2-1-0 with a 2.75 GAA and a .913 SV%.
- Forward Chris Kreider signed a seven-year contract extension on Monday. Kreider has 45 points (24G, 21A) through 60 games.
- Forward Michael Haley is out indefinitely and will undergo surgery for a bilateral core muscle injury. Haley last played on Jan. 21 against the Islanders. Through 22 games, Haley has one goal.
Probable Starting Goalies:
Alexandar Georgiev
| Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | OT | SA | GA | GAA | S | Sv% | SO | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Igor Shesterkin | 10 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 368 | 22 | 2.23 | 346 | .940 | 0 | 593 |
 Alexandar Georgiev | 28 | 26 | 14 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 861 | 76 | 2.98 | 785 | .912 | 2 | 1,531 |
 Henrik Lundqvist | 28 | 25 | 10 | 11 | 0 | 3 | 852 | 79 | 3.12 | 773 | .907 | 1 | 1,522 |
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Semyon Varlamov
| Player | GP | GS | W | L | T | OT | SA | GA | GAA | S | Sv% | SO | MIN |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Semyon Varlamov | 40 | 35 | 19 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 1,143 | 92 | 2.47 | 1,051 | .920 | 2 | 2,238 |
 Thomas Greiss | 28 | 26 | 16 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 766 | 64 | 2.65 | 702 | .916 | 0 | 1,451 |
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Player Stats:
| Rangers | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | PPP | SHG | SHP | GWG | OTG | S | S% | FO% |
| Artemi Panarin | 60 | 31 | 52 | 83 | 33 | 18 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 189 | 16.4 | 50 |
| Mika Zibanejad | 48 | 28 | 32 | 60 | 13 | 14 | 10 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 168 | 16.7 | 48.72 |
| Ryan Strome | 61 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 21 | 40 | 2 | 15 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 128 | 12.5 | 48.51 |
| Chris Kreider | 60 | 24 | 21 | 45 | 12 | 58 | 9 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 152 | 15.8 | 44.17 |
| Tony DeAngelo | 59 | 13 | 32 | 45 | 15 | 47 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 122 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Pavel Buchnevich | 61 | 14 | 23 | 37 | -1 | 20 | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 127 | 11 | 19.05 |
| Adam Fox | 61 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 16 | 22 | 1 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 112 | 5.4 | 0 |
| Jesper Fast | 60 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 17 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 76 | 14.5 | 33.33 |
| Jacob Trouba | 61 | 7 | 20 | 27 | -10 | 54 | 4 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 150 | 4.7 | 0 |
| Filip Chytil | 52 | 13 | 9 | 22 | -2 | 8 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 106 | 12.3 | 37.64 |
| Kaapo Kakko | 57 | 8 | 12 | 20 | -23 | 14 | 2 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 92 | 8.7 | 33.33 |
| Brendan Lemieux | 50 | 6 | 9 | 15 | -13 | 93 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 73 | 8.2 | 34.88 |
| Ryan Lindgren | 51 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 39 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 2.6 | 0 |
| Marc Staal | 43 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 5.6 | 0 |
| Brendan Smith | 53 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -12 | 60 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 37 | 8.1 | 100 |
| Greg McKegg | 45 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8.8 | 46.51 |
| Phillip Di Giuseppe | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | -1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 |
| Micheal Haley | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -7 | 50 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 9 | 11.1 | 58.33 |
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| Islanders | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PPG | PPP | SHG | SHP | GWG | OTG | S | S% | FO% |
| Mathew Barzal | 61 | 18 | 34 | 52 | 6 | 36 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 147 | 12.2 | 40.78 |
| Brock Nelson | 61 | 22 | 27 | 49 | 9 | 30 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 3 | 157 | 14 | 51.64 |
| Josh Bailey | 61 | 13 | 26 | 39 | -11 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 80 | 16.3 | 50.2 |
| Anders Lee | 61 | 19 | 19 | 38 | 8 | 42 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 176 | 10.8 | 45.88 |
| Anthony Beauvillier | 61 | 18 | 20 | 38 | -2 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 118 | 15.3 | 72.73 |
| Jordan Eberle | 51 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 2 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 113 | 11.5 | 0 |
| Ryan Pulock | 61 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 12 | 14 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 136 | 5.1 | 0 |
| Derick Brassard | 59 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 3 | 16 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 105 | 9.5 | 55.1 |
| Devon Toews | 61 | 6 | 18 | 24 | 7 | 14 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 107 | 5.6 | 0 |
| Nick Leddy | 53 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 4 | 14 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 68 | 4.4 | 0 |
| Casey Cizikas | 48 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 12 | 41 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 67 | 14.9 | 53.49 |
| Leo Komarov | 42 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 42 | 9.5 | 40 |
| Scott Mayfield | 60 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 10 | 53 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 91 | 5.5 | 0 |
| Johnny Boychuk | 60 | 2 | 9 | 11 | -8 | 14 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 90 | 2.2 | 0 |
| Michael Dal Colle | 47 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -6 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 8.2 | 71.43 |
| Adam Pelech | 38 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 49 | 2 | 0 |
| Matt Martin | 49 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 3 | 40 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 11.1 | 33.33 |
| Cal Clutterbuck | 33 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 7 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 8.8 | 44.44 |
| Tom Kuhnhackl | 28 | 3 | 3 | 6 | -4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 10.7 | 0 |
| Noah Dobson | 30 | 1 | 4 | 5 | -3 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 33 | 3 | 0 |
| Ross Johnston | 31 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 1 | 78 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | 20 | 100 |
| Andy Greene | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Ladd | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
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Standings:
| Eastern | GP | W | L | OT | PTS | RW | ROW | GF | GA | DIFF | HOME | AWAY | S/O | L10 | STRK |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 Boston | 63 | 39 | 12 | 12 | 90 | 34 | 39 | 208 | 159 | +49 | 21-2-9 | 18-10-3 | 0-7 | 8-2-0 | L1 |
| 2 Tampa Bay | 62 | 40 | 17 | 5 | 85 | 32 | 38 | 221 | 171 | +50 | 20-7-2 | 20-10-3 | 2-0 | 8-2-0 | L2 |
| 3 Washington | 62 | 38 | 18 | 6 | 82 | 29 | 35 | 218 | 190 | +28 | 17-9-5 | 21-9-1 | 3-2 | 3-6-1 | W1 |
| 4 Pittsburgh | 61 | 37 | 18 | 6 | 80 | 26 | 34 | 201 | 168 | +33 | 22-6-4 | 15-12-2 | 3-0 | 5-4-1 | L3 |
| 5 Philadelphia | 62 | 35 | 20 | 7 | 77 | 25 | 30 | 206 | 183 | +23 | 21-5-4 | 14-15-3 | 5-5 | 7-3-0 | W3 |
| 6 NY Islanders | 61 | 35 | 20 | 6 | 76 | 24 | 32 | 176 | 164 | +12 | 20-7-4 | 15-13-2 | 3-2 | 5-5-0 | W2 |
| 7 Columbus | 64 | 31 | 19 | 14 | 76 | 23 | 31 | 166 | 166 | 0 | 19-11-4 | 12-8-10 | 0-4 | 2-3-5 | W1 |
| 8 Carolina | 61 | 35 | 22 | 4 | 74 | 25 | 30 | 201 | 172 | +29 | 19-10-2 | 16-12-2 | 5-0 | 6-3-1 | W1 |
| 9 Toronto | 63 | 32 | 23 | 8 | 72 | 24 | 31 | 220 | 210 | +10 | 16-9-7 | 16-14-1 | 1-4 | 4-5-1 | L1 |
| 10 NY Rangers | 61 | 33 | 24 | 4 | 70 | 29 | 32 | 203 | 188 | +15 | 17-13-2 | 16-11-2 | 1-2 | 8-2-0 | W3 |
| 11 Florida | 62 | 32 | 24 | 6 | 70 | 27 | 29 | 217 | 212 | +5 | 16-12-2 | 16-12-4 | 3-3 | 3-7-0 | L2 |
| 12 Buffalo | 62 | 29 | 25 | 8 | 66 | 22 | 28 | 182 | 193 | -11 | 19-10-4 | 10-15-4 | 1-2 | 6-3-1 | W2 |
| 13 Montréal | 64 | 29 | 27 | 8 | 66 | 18 | 25 | 194 | 195 | -1 | 13-15-5 | 16-12-3 | 4-1 | 5-4-1 | W2 |
| 14 New Jersey | 61 | 24 | 27 | 10 | 58 | 18 | 20 | 167 | 210 | -43 | 12-10-10 | 12-17-0 | 4-6 | 6-3-1 | W2 |
| 15 Ottawa | 63 | 21 | 30 | 12 | 54 | 16 | 21 | 167 | 216 | -49 | 15-13-6 | 6-17-6 | 0-5 | 3-6-1 | OT1 |
| 16 Detroit | 64 | 15 | 45 | 4 | 34 | 12 | 13 | 130 | 240 | -110 | 10-19-2 | 5-26-2 | 2-1 | 3-7-0 | L2 |
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