Game Preview: Islanders vs. Rangers

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (26-11-4) VS NEW YORK RANGERS (19-6-5)
7 PM | NASSAU COLISEUM
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For the second-straight game, the New York Islanders will face their crosstown rivals the New York Rangers at Nassau Coliseum. The meeting will wrap-up the Islanders' six-game home stand. With the Islanders' loss and a 4-3 win for the Washington Capitals over Buffalo on Friday, the Islanders and Caps are now tied again for first place in the East Division with 56 points, though the Caps hold the first tiebreaker.

In Friday's meetings between the two East Division clubs and storied foes, the Islanders dropped a 4-1 decision to the Blueshirts and thus, their four-game winning streak came to an end. Andy Greene scored the Islanders only goal and Semyon Varlamov made 32 saves.
The Rangers never trailed in the game as they received even-strength goals from Alexis Lafreniere, Colin Blackwell, K'Andre Miller and Mika Zibanejad (empty net). Alexandar Georgiev backstopped the win as he made his first start in 21 days and turned aside 31 of 32 shots. With the win, the Rangers evened the regular-season series with the Islanders to 2-2-0.
For both teams, Friday night was the second leg of a back-to-back set against the group. The Islanders said the contest wasn't up to their high expectations, but the team is looking forward to putting the loss behind them. Fortunately, their next opportunity to do that is against the Rangers, which adds a bit more incentive and motivation given the rivalry.
"Little things throughout the game can add up, we found a way the other night and [on Friday] we didn't," Josh Bailey said. "So we'll turn the page, rest up and get ready to go."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Greene scored his first goal of the season and his first regular-season goal as a member of the Islanders, since the team acquired him just before last year's trade deadline. With the goal, the veteran blueliner now has totaled four points (1G, 3A) through 41 games.
• Mathew Barzal recorded the sole assist on Greene's tally which boosted his team lead in scoring to 35 points (13G, 22A) through 41 games.
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• Varlamov made his 28th start of the season while his record dropped to 16-8-3. Varlamov's shutout streak vs the Rangers ended at 146:05 - a team record.
• The Islanders received the only power play of the game and went 0-for-1 on it. Their power play has struggled as of late and has now converted only four times through 29 opportunities in the past 12 games. In the NHL, the Islanders PP is ranked 22nd (18.2%).
• Brock Nelson had a goal overturned in the second period as his stick was above the height of the crossbar on the play. Nelson's had scored goals in back-to-back games, plus a game-deciding goal in Thursday's shootout win over the Flyers, coming into Friday's matchup. While he didn't record a point against the Rangers, the 29-year-old center still leads the team in goals with 15 and has registered 24 points through 41 games.
• Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac dressed in their second-career and second-straight games since becoming members of the Islanders - in a trade with New Jersey on April 7.
• The Islanders rank second in the NHL - behind Vegas - in allowing the fewest goals against at 2.32 per game. The Islanders also average the second-fewest shots against in the league - behind Colorado - at 27.6.

RANGERS NOTES:

*Update: Rangers Head Coach David Quinn confirmed that Igor Shesterkin will start in net against the Islanders.
• Lafreniere deposited his seventh goal of this rookie season and his second goal in his last three games. The 19-year-old former No. 1 overall pick (2020) now has 13 points (7G, 6A) through 40 games.
• Blackwell's tear continued as the center extended his goal streak to three games and scored his sixth goal in the last seven games. The 28-year-old has played in 31 games this season with the Rangers and totaled 17 points (12G, 5A).
• Miller picked up his fifth goal of his rookie season on Friday night. The 21-year-old defenseman now has nine points (4G, 5A) through 37 games.
• Zibanejad scored his 14th goal of the season on an empty netter. After scoring just two goals through his first 16 games of the season, the winger has scored 12 goals in the last 18 games.
• Artemi Panarin posted a two-point outing as he assisted on Blackwell and Miller's goals. The Russian winger now has points in five of his last six games with 13 points (4G, 9A) in that stretch. Through 29 games, Panarin has totaled a team high of 42 points (12G, 30A).
• While Adam Fox didn't register a point on Friday night, the defenseman is still having himself quite the season. Fox's 37 points are tied with Tampa's Victor Hedman for the most in the NHL among blueliners. The 23-year-old Jericho native has also compiled the most assists in the league among defensemen with 32.
• The Rangers penalty kill was 1-for-1 against the Islanders and is ranked fourth overall in the NHL at 84.4%.
• The Blueshirts average the eighth-most goals per game in the league at 3.25.