Rangers vs. Islanders: 3 things to watch for in rivals’ first meeting this season
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders will get together for the first time this season when they face off at Madison Square Garden in a rare afternoon game on an NFL Sunday.
Each team is coming off a win on Friday night. The Rangers got another magnificent performance by goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who made 40 saves in a 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators at the Garden. The banged-up Islanders gutted out a 4-3 road victory against the Buffalo Sabres on a night that saw them play the second half of the game with just four defensemen after Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly were injured in the second period.
The win against the Senators gave the Rangers a 7-2-1 record through their first 10 games. The Islanders are 4-5-2 and been shut out a League-high four times, including a 2-0 road loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Wednesday. That’s also when their most dynamic forward, Mathew Barzal, sustained an upper-body injury. He was sent home, didn’t play in the win at Buffalo and was placed on long-term injured reserve on Saturday.
The all-time series between the local rivals is about as close as it could be. The Rangers have 138 wins, the Islanders have 136 (there have also been 19 ties). The difference is that the Rangers won three of the four games last season – one each in regulation, overtime (in their Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium) and a shootout. The Rangers are 77-53-6 with 11 ties at MSG, including three straight victories.
This is the only game between the local rivals until the Rangers visit UBS Arena on Feb. 25; they play three times in the final six weeks of the season, including again at MSG on March 3.
Related: Jimmy Vesey likely to make season debut for Rangers against Islanders
3 things to watch for when Rangers host Islanders
1. Igor vs. Ilya
Igor Shesterkin and Ilya Sorokin may play on opposite sides in one of the biggest NHL rivalries, but they’re buddies away from the rink. Each was a star in the KHL before coming to North America and among the best in the NHL the goalie position. Indications at their respective teams’ practices Saturday indicate they’ll face each other Sunday.
The two have been friends since they were teenagers coming up through Russia’s hockey system. The friendship has lasted through their time playing for two of the KHL’s biggest rivals and has continued during the New York-New York rivalry. They’ve even hung out together during the offseason.
Shesterkin has more accomplishments – he won the Vezina Trophy in 2021-22 and helped the Rangers reach the Eastern Conference Final twice in the past three seasons. But he’s 5-8-1 with a 3.10 goals-against average and .890 save percentage against the Islanders.
Sorokin has fared a little better against the Rangers, 3-3-2 with the same 3.10 GAA but a .909 save percentage and one shutout.
“No friends on the ice,” Sorokin told The Athletic last fall. “After, we talk. But on ice, we’re professionals.”
2. Shuffling the lines
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette has kept his top three lines pretty much intact through the first 10 games. But after watching them get caved in during a 5-3 road loss to the Washington Capitals on Tuesday and outplayed even more severely by the Senators, the pairings could look a lot different when the Rangers hit the ice Sunday.
He made it clear after the win against the Senators that he wasn’t happy with the way his big guns played this week on both sides of the puck.
At practice Saturday, Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere, who accounted for both goals against Ottawa, were moved to a line with No. 1 center Mika Zibanejad, who has struggled for most of the season, especially 5v5. Vincent Trocheck, who usually centers Panarin and Lafreniere, was between Will Cuylle, who’s impressed as the third-line left wing, and Reilly Smith, who had been playing with Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.
Kreider skated on a third line with Filip Chytil and Kaapo Kakko.
“That’s three out of four games where I don’t think that we’ve taken it the way we want to offensively,” Laviolette said after practice, “so we gave it a different look in practice.
“If you’ve got to make some moves, things are going to change.”
Jimmy Vesey, who’s expected to make his season debut Sunday after missing the first 10 games with a lower-body injury, was at right wing on the fourth line with center Sam Carrick and left wing Adam Edstrom.
3. Rangers face battered Islanders team
The Rangers are catching the Islanders at far less than full strength.
Barzal was placed on LTIR Saturday, which means he must miss at least 10 games and 24 days. The Isles say he’ll be lost for 4-6 weeks. Pelech, who was hit in the face by a shot, is also projected to miss 4-6 weeks; he was placed on injured reserve. They were already without former Rangers forward Anthony Duclair, who’s out with a lower-body injury.
Two other defensemen didn’t practice Saturday and are listed as day to day. Reilly was helped off the ice after a thunderous second-period hit by Buffalo’s Jordan Greenway and didn’t return. It’s tough to imagine that he’ll be ready to play against the Rangers.
Alexander Romanov returned Friday after missing two games with an upper-body injury but didn’t practice Saturday, which might have been a maintenance day. He’s listed as day to day, but they’re hoping he’ll be ready to go. Coach Patrick Roy said Saturday he expects Romanov to play.
The Isles recalled defensemen Grant Hutton and Samuel Bolduc from AHL Bridgeport, but neither is the caliber of Reilly, let alone Pelech, who will leave a big hole on the top pairing with Noah Dobson if he can’t play.
New York Rangers projected lineup
Panarin – Zibanejad – Lafreniere
Cuylle – Trocheck – Smith
Kreider – Chytil – Kakko
Edstrom – Carrick – Brodzinski
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Trouba
Jones – Schneider
Shesterkin
Quick
Rangers vs. Islanders: When, where, what time, how to watch
Who: New York Rangers vs. New York Islanders
When: Sunday, Nov. 3 at 1 p.m. ET
Where: Madison Square Garden
How to Watch: MSGSN/NHL Network
Click here for New York Rangers complete 2024-25 schedule and game results
More About:New York Rangers News
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