Is it possible for the Rangers to win on Long Island?
By Steve Paulus
The New York Rangers are coming off a disappointing and predictable loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins that all but torpedoed their playoff hopes. If the Rangers are to have a chance to make the postseason, they will have to run the table the rest of the season, starting tonight at the Nassau Coliseum.
Alexandar Georgiev will be in net for the Blueshirts, making his first start since March 19. He’s been solid against the Islanders in his career,but coming off a long layoff this will be a real challenge for the young netminder.
Both teams are going to be playing back-to-back games, so fatigue won’t be an excuse, but the Islanders have a fabulous record of 17-1-2 at home so a Rangers win won’t be easy. The Islanders are also the best defensive team in the NHL, with enough firepower when needed. Bolstered by the acquisition of Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac, the Islanders are positioning themselves for a long playoff run.
The only hope for the Rangers is that they are an unpredictable team that usually responds well after a bad loss and saves their best against tough competition. Tonight will be a true test of the team’s mettle.
With the trade deadline looming on Monday, two losses to the Isles will mean that Jeff Gorton will be working the phones to see what interest there is in any of his players.
About the Rangers
Alexandar Georgiev has had a lot of success against the Islaanders in his career. In eight games against the Isles, he is 6-2 with a .941 Save Percentage and 1.80 Goals Against Average. The three weeks in between starts is the longest stretch of his career. It’s worth noting that in his last start he lost 2-1 to the Capitals when Washington scored two late third period goals and in the prior game, he shut out the Flyers 9-0. In hindsight, giving Keith Kinkaid those starts instead of Georgiev might have been the wrong decision.
Projected lineup
20 Kreider– 93 Zibanejad – 89 Buchnevich
10 Panarin – 16 Strome – 43 Blackwell
13 Lafrenière – 72 Chytil- 24 Kakko
33 Di Giuseppe – 17 Rooney – 72 Kravtsov
55 Lindgren – 23 Fox
79 Miller – 8 Trouba
25 Hajek – 42 Smith
40 Georgiev
31 Shesterkin
About the Islanders
The Islanders keep rolling along with the second most points in the NHL. Their only loss at home was to the Philadelphia Flyers on March 18. Since that loss, they have won five in a row at home. They’ve won seven of their last nine game with only two losses to Pittsburgh in that mix.
The Islanders made the first big trade of the season this week, acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac from the Devils in exchange for their first round draft pick and some prospects. The acquisitions will go a long way to replace the injured Anders Lee, lost for the season.
The Isles are coming off a 3-2 shootout win over the Flyers on Thursday night.
Projected Lineup
47 Leo Komarov – 13 Mathew Barzal –7 Jordan Eberle
18 Anthony Beauvillier -29 Brock Nelson – 12 Josh Bailey
21 Kyle Palmieri– 44 J.G. Pageau – 14 Travis Zajac
15 Cal Clutterbuck – 53 Casey Cizikas – 17 Matt Martin
3 Adam Pelech – 6 Ryan Pulock
2 Nick Leddy – 24 Scott Mayfield
8 Noah Dobson – 4 Andy Greene
40 Semyon Varlamov
30 llya Sorokin
This season
Three shutouts in three games, two by the Islanders and one by the Rangers. It’s been a while since the teams played and the Rangers of today are very different from the team that faced the Islanders two months ago.
January 14 – Islanders 4, Rangers 0
January 16 – Rangers 5, Islanders 0
February 8 – Islanders 2, Rangers 0
3 keys to winning
- Stop the B boys – Mathew Barzal and Anthony Beauvillier have been a two man wrecking crew when it comes to the New York Rangers. One way to win is to stop them from scoring.
- Play responsible defense – The Rangers need to play the kind of game they played to beat the Washington Capitals. They put on a lesson when they beat Washington and it will take that kind of effort to beat the Islanders.
- Don’t be stubborn – If you think the Penguins did a good job at turning the Rangers attack aside in the neutral zone, wait till they play the Islanders. That’s a specialization for Barry Trotz’s team and the Rangers need to adopt a dump and chase offense.
East Division
Six of eight East teams will be playing on no rest tonight. The Bruins are off, getting ready for a weekeend against the Flyers and Capitals.
Tonight’s games
Rangers @ Islanders
Penguins @ Devils
Capitals @ Sabres
Last night’s games
Penguins 5, Rangers 2
Bruins 4, Capitals 2
Islanders 3, Flyers 2 (Shootout)
Devils 6, Sabres 3
Standings
1- Islanders 40 26-10-4 56 points
2- Washington 40 25-11-4 54 points
3- Pittsburgh 40 25-13-2 52 points
4- Boston 37 21-10-6 48 points
5- Philadelphia 39 18-15-6 42 points
6- Rangers 39 18-16-5 41 points
7- New Jersey 38 14-18-6 34 points
8- Buffalo 39 9-24-6 24 points
About the game and join the live conversation
The game starts at 7pm EST and it will be It will be televised on the MSG2 Network with the radio call on WEPN 1050 AM.
Be sure and join the live conversation here on Blue Line Station. The live thread can be found in the conversations section (below). The thread is active now, but since it is a Rangers-Islanders meeting it should heat up when the game starts.