Game Preview: Islanders at Rangers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (8-5-0) AT NEW YORK RANGERS (6-4-3)
7 PM | MADISON SQUARE GARDEN
WATCH: MSGSN2 | MSGGO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050 AM
Fresh off a rousing
4-3 comeback win
in overtime over the Calgary Flames on Monday night, the New York Islanders head into the heart of Manhattan to take on the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

Noah Dobson scored the OT winner with 58 seconds to play in overtime on Monday, capping a comeback that saw the Islanders claw their way out of a 3-1 hole in the third period. The win marked the Islanders sixth victory in their past seven games, a resilient effort after a matinee loss on Saturday in Detroit, and their second third period comeback in 10 days.
"There's little moments throughout the year that can really change the course of the season," said Mathew Barzal, who had three assists in the win. "I think [the win over Colorado] was one of them, and I think that played a little bit into tonight just knowing going into the third we hadn't had our best game and knowing we could still do it. That's what the locker room is like right now."
The Rangers are winless in their last two games (0-1-1) most recently falling 3-2 in OT to the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday. Unlike the Islanders comeback win, the Rangers saw an early lead slip away, as they allowed three unanswered goals in the loss.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Noah Dobson recorded the second OT winner of his career and first since New Year's Day vs Edmonton. Dobson's four goals and nine points are tops among Islanders defensemen this season. His two game-winning goals tie Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey for the overall team lead. Per Eric Hornick, Dobson is the first Islander defenseman to score the winning goal in consecutive Islander overtime wins since Roman Hamrlik (2/22/01 vs Philadelphia and 3/20/01 at St. Louis).
  - With Ilya Sorokin playing on Monday - and making a season-high 43 saves - Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in goal on Tuesday against the Rangers. Varlamov is on an absolute heater at MSG, recording four-straight shutouts at The Garden, stopping 106 shots over that span.
  Per Hornick, Varlamov tied the NHL record (set by Ottawa's Alec Connell in 1926 against the NY Americans) for most consecutive road shutouts against one opponent.
  Varlamov is 2-2-0 this season with 2.90 GAA and a .909 SV%.
  - Also per Hornick, the Isles blanked the Rangers 3-0 at UBS Arena 13 days ago with Sorokin in net; they have shut out the Rangers six times in the last 13 meetings and allowed a total of 23 goals.
  - JG Pageau won a career-high 20 face-offs on Monday vs Calgary, going 20-5 at the dot (80%).
  - Barzal had three assist in Monday's win and now has a team-high 14 assists through 13 games. Barzal has 10 assists in his last eight games and played a season-high 24:01 on Monday. Barzal has 30 points (8G, 22A) in 25 games against the Rangers in his career.
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  - Sebastian Aho scored his first goal of the season on Monday, converting a first period pass from Barzal. Aho is the fifth Islander defensemen to score a goal this season, joining Scott Mayfield, Ryan Pulock, Noah Dobson and Robin Salo. The Islanders' 11 goals from defensemen this season tie for second place in the NHL with the Seattle Kraken and Florida Panthers. Only the San Jose Sharks, led by Erik Karlsson who has 10 goals on his own, have scored more.
  - Cal Clutterbuck left Monday's game after the first period and did not return. Head Coach Lane Lambert did not have an update on his status after the game.
  - The Islanders have scored 22 third period goals this season, which is tied with Buffalo for most in the NHL. They have allowed 11.

RANGERS NOTES:

• Mika Zibanejad leads the Rangers with seven goals so far this season, but has scored none of those goals at even strength. Zibanejad has six power play goals and one shorthanded goal. Ten of his 15 points (7G, 6A) have come on special teams.
  - Julien Gauthier and Ryan Lindgren both suffered upper-body injuries and are considered day-to-day, according to Head Coach Gerard Gallant. Gauthier scored two points (1G, 1A) in six games this season. Lindgren has two points (2A) in 12 games.
  - Artemi Panarin leads the Rangers in scoring, with 17 points (5G, 12A) in 13 games. Panarin has five points (1G, 5A) in his last five games.
  - Chris Kreider comes into Tuesday's game on a five-game point streak, with six points (2G, 4A) in those five games. Kreider now has 10 points (4G, 6A) in 13 games.
  - Vitali Kravtsov is a possibility for Tuesday's game, according to Gallant. Kravtsov has not played since Oct. 29 and has been out with an upper-body injury. Kravtsov was a full participant in practice Monday.