The Islanders have won six of their past seven games and 10 of their past 12, including a 4-3 victory against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Thursday despite being outshot 17-1 in the third period. Josh Bailey scored the game-winning goal with 1:26 remaining. Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Rangers, who will play the fourth game of a stretch that features five of six on the road. They have lost all seven games played at Barclays Center (0-6-1) and have been outscored 25-12.
Players to watch
Rangers forward Jesper Fast has scored in back-to-back games. Islanders forward Mathew Barzal 14 points (nine goals, five assists) in his past nine games.
They said it
"As we've all alluded to, the season's past the halfway point and the gap's getting bigger. Every game brings a new level of significance just because of the situation we're in." -- Rangers coach David Quinn "Obviously, it's a rivalry; you can feel it out there. But if we want to win the next game, we have a lot of things to fix."-- Islanders goalie Robin Lehner
Hayes is expected to miss his fifth straight game. ... DeAngelo will replace Pionk, who has a lower-body injury, according to Quinn.
Stat pack
Shattenkirk has 16 points (four goals, 12 assists) in 14 games against them. … Lehner has won his past eight games and has allowed 16 goals in his past 11 (1.50 goals-against average, .947 save percentage). … The Islanders are 6-0-0 when they hold their opponent to 20 or fewer shots but are 5-9-1 when they outshoot their opponents.
