Game Preview: Islanders at Rangers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (1-1-0) AT NEW YORK RANGERS (3-1-0) 

7:30 PM | MADISON SQUARE GARDEN 

HOW TO WATCH/STREAM: ESPN  

HOW TO LISTEN: 88.7FM WRHU | 103.9FM LI NEWS | 92.5FM THE BEACON | ISLES + UBS ARENA APP 

The New York Islanders head to Broadway on Tuesday night to take on their crosstown rivals, the New York Rangers  

The Isles are coming off a 6-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday. Six different goal scorers lifted the Isles to their first win of the season, including Victor Eklund, who scored his first NHL goal and tallied an assist on what was also his 20th birthday.  

The Rangers enter the night on a three-game winning streak, most recently beating the Utah Mammoth 4-2 on Sunday.. The Rangers are currently undefeated at home this season. Vladislav Gavrikov (1G, 1A), Eeli Tolvanen, Gabe Perreault and J.T. Miller all found the back of the net against Utah.  

The Islanders swept the season series against the Rangers last season, outscoring the Rangers 14-3 across four matchups.

PROJECTED LINEUP 

See the Islanders lines from Monday's practice. Check back after morning skate to see if there are any line or lineup updates. 

Emil Heineman – Bo Horvat – Kyle Palmieri 

Brayden Schenn – Cal Ritchie – Victor Eklund 
Simon Holmström – JG Pageau – Anthony Duclair 
Ondřej Palát – Casey Cizikas – Matias Maccelli 

Adam Pelech – Matthew Schaefer 
Alexander Romanov – Ryan Pulock  
Logan Stanley – Tony DeAngelo  

Kyle MacLean, Matt Kessel and Scott Mayfield are the expected scratches.

REGIONAL RIVALRY

The Islanders went 4-0 against the Rangers last season. Since 2021, the Islanders are 9-8-2 against their archrival.

"Big rivalry game, especially against them," Anthony Duclair said on facing the Rangers. "It's always games you want to win and play a hard, solid game. It's obviously going to be very intense, all the emotions every time we play them. So, for us, I think just building off that momentum last game and continuing playing connected five on the ice."

Last season, the Islanders opened their slate against the Rangers with a 5-0 shutout victory at the Garden. Across four games, the Islanders allowed just four goals to the Rangers in the 2025-26 season.

"We're not going to talk about any sweeps," Islanders Head Coach Pete DeBoer said. "Good on the Islanders last year. That's quite an accomplishment, but we're going to take this one game at a time, and they're [the Rangers are] playing at a very high level right now, and we're coming off a good performance, but we're going to have to be better in order to come out tomorrow at any point."

EYES ON THE ROOKIES

The Islanders and Rangers each have a first-round draft pick rookie in their starting lineups.

Victor Eklund, a Swedish winger, recorded his first NHL goal in the Isles home opener on his 20^th birthday.

Eklund was a first rounder (16^th overall) in the 2025 draft and made his NHL debut last season during the final game of the year for the Isles.

In three career games, Eklund has tallied three points (1G, 2A).

The Rangers 18-year-old defenseman, Alberts Šmits, has played in all four games the Rangers played this season. Šmits was drafted fifth overall in the 2026 draft and was the highest ever Latvian pick in the NHL Draft. The blueliner stands at 6'3'' 208lbs. and is a +1 this season.

RANGERS HOT START

The Rangers are off to a strong start to the season, going 3-1-0, riding a three-game winning streak. The Rangers dropped their first game of the season against the Boston Bruins but have bounced back since getting shutout to start their 2026-27 slate.

The Rangers have scored 11 goals in their last three games, outscoring opponents 11-3 in their winning streak.

Defenseman Adam Fox leads the Rangers with four points (4A). The Rangers lead goal scorer from last season, Mika Zibanejad, has tallied three points (1G, 2A), following a 78-point (34G, 44A) campaign. Eeli Tolvanen leads the Rangers in goals this season with three, which is tied for fourth best in the NHL.

Igor Shesterkin is on a point streak at the Garden, tallying a goalie goal against the Tampa Bay Lightning on October 1 and recording an assist on Sunday against the Utah Mammoth. Shesterkin's goalie goal is the Rangers' first ever in franchise history.

Shesterkin has recorded a .934 save percentage and 1.67 goals against average this season across three games played.

RANGERS OFFSEASON CHANGES

The Rangers made several significant additions to their squad this offseason, including trading for - and subsequently signing - Pavel Dorofeyev. Dorofeyev is coming off a career-best 37 goal season with the Vegas Golden Knights and potted 35 points the year prior. Dorofeyev has tallied two points (1G, 1A) so far this season.

The Rangers also signed Oliver Bjorkstrand this offseason, who is skating on the fourth line. Bjorkstrand has recorded 417 points (184G, 233A) across 708 career games.

The third forward acquisition for the Blueshirts this offseason was Eeli Tolvanen. Tolvanen is off to a great start, recording three goals this season.

The Rangers added to their defense in the offseason as well trading for defenseman Sean Durzi in a deal that sent Vincent Trocheck to the Mammoth. Durzi is coming off a 27-point season (5G, 22A). The Rangers also traded for Marcus Pettersson, who has over 1,500 regular-season hits, which leads any active NHLer.