Game Preview: Islanders at Rangers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (29-19-5) AT NEW YORK RANGERS (22-26-6)

7:00 PM ET | MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders head to Madison Square Garden to face the New York Rangers on Thursday for the second half of a back-to-back set, with an opportunity to sweep the season series over their crosstown rivals.

The Islanders overpowered the Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night and notched their third win against the Rangers this season. Ondrej Palat (PPG, 1A), Simon Holmstrom (1G, 2A), Mathew Barzal (PPG), JG Pageau and Emil Heineman potted goals in the win. David Rittich saved 14 of the 16 shots he faced and remained unbeaten against the Rangers in his career with a record of 5-0-0.

The Islanders sit third in the Metropolitan Division with 63 points, 13 points ahead of the Rangers (50 points) who rank eighth in the division.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Below are the Islanders’ lines from Wednesday’s game against the Rangers. Check back before puck drop for any updates.

Ondrej Palat – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Jonathan Drouin – Mathew Barzal – Anthony Duclair
Anders Lee – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas – Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield

SOROKIN TO START ON THURSDAY

Ilya Sorokin will start in the second half of the Islanders’ back-to-back, home-and-home series against the Rangers. Sorokin stopped all 21 shots he faced and earned his sixth shutout of the season his last time out in the Islanders’ 4-0 win over the Flyers on Monday night.

The 30-year-old goaltender made 33 saves and shut out the Rangers in the Isles’ 5-0 victory on Nov. 8. He is 17-12-2 with a 2.43 GAA, a .916 SV% and six shutouts this season.

PALAT’S DEBUT

Ondrej Palat notched two points (1G, 1A) in his Islanders debut. Palat opened Wednesday’s scoring with a power-play goal and earned a secondary helper on Emil Heineman’s second period score to make it 5-2.

“For [my] first game, I thought we played well,” Palat said after the win. “Bo and [Heineman] helped me so much.”

The newest member of the Islanders joined Jonathan Drouin and Max Shabanov as the third Isles skater to score in their Islanders debut this season.

Palat was acquired from the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday, in exchange for a 2026 third-round pick and 2027 sixth-round pickand Max Tsyplakov. The 34-year-old has 12 points (5G, 7A) this season.

HOLMSTROM THREE-POINT NIGHT

Simon Holmstrom recorded three points (1G, 2A) for the second time this month in his return to the lineup after missing Monday’s game with an illness. His three points came on the Islanders’ first three tallies in the 5-2 win.

“I just keep building on what I’ve been doing before this,” Holmstrom said. “Playing a strong game, 200 feet, and being strong on the puck. [It] definitely helps when you have teammates like this.”

The Isles winger ranks fifth on the team with 27 points (13G, 15A) this season.

SEASON SERIES

This is the fourth and final regular season meeting between the Islanders and Rangers in the 2025-26 campaign. The Isles will look to sweep the season series against the Rangers at MSG on Thursday, as the Islanders outscored the Rangers 12-2 in their three meetings where they went 3-0-0.

RANGERS NOTES

The Rangers are 2-8-0 in their last 10 games and last in the Metropolitan Division with 50 points.

Jonathan Quick will start in the crease for the Rangers on Thursday night. Quick earned his first win of the month on Monday night in the Rangers’ 4-3 overtime victory over the Boston Bruins. He has won two of his last 14 outings. The 40-year-old is 4-11-2 with a 3.17 GAA, a .884 SV% and one shutout in his 19^th NHL season.

JT Miller has points in each of his last two outings and at least one point in 10 of his 12. He has earned 14 points (5G, 9A) in that 12-game stretch. Miller’s 34 points (14G, 20A) rank third on the Rangers this season.

Mika Zibanejad leads New York with 22 goals and ranks second with 50 points (22G, 28A) this season. The Rangers forward has totaled at least 50 points in each of his last eight seasons.

Artemi Panarin missed Wednesday’s game at UBS Arena for roster management reasons. Panarin leads New York with 57 points (19G, 38A) this season.

Adam Fox (lower body, LTIR) joined the Rangers in a non-contact jersey for their optional morning skate ahead of Wednesday’s game against the Isles. Fox hasn’t played since Jan. 5 and leads all Rangers defensemen with 28 points (4G, 24A).

Igor Shesterkin (IR) also hasn’t played since Jan. 5 and will remain out on Thursday. Shesterkin is 17-12-4 with a 2.45 GAA, a .913 SV% and one shutout this season.

New York owns the 10^th best power-play (22.6%) in the league this season but rank third (31.3%) this month.