Rangers at Islanders preview

RANGERS (33-24-4) at ISLANDERS (35-20-6)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+ 2, MSG, NHL.TV

Pageau, a center, was traded to the Islanders by the Ottawa Senators on Monday. He has an NHL career-high 24 goals this season.
The Islanders, who are tied with the Columbus Blue Jackets for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference, are seeking their third straight win.
Alexandar Georgiev will start for the Rangers. They are without goalie Igor Shesterkin, who sustained a rib fracture in a car accident Sunday and will be reassessed in a couple of weeks. Shesterkin is 9-1-0 and has won seven straight starts. Forward Pavel Buchnevich, who was also involved in the accident, is experiencing soreness and is day to day.
The Rangers have won three in a row, are 7-1-0 in their past eight games and trail the Islanders and Blue Jackets by six points. They can set a team record with an eighth straight road victory; they also won seven consecutive road games from Jan. 12 to Feb. 12, 1935, and from Oct. 28 to Nov. 29, 1978.

Players to watch

Rangers forward Artemi Panarin has four goals and eight assists during a nine-game point streak.
Islanders forward Anders Lee has two goals and three assists in his past two games.

They said it

"I hope I get more opportunities now. I feel really good about my practices and where my game is going to be. I'm just excited to get the next game." -- Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev
"I heard they're fun games, they're tough games. I heard the fans are really going to be really into it. I can't wait to see and meet all of our fans, and I can't wait just to get on the ice and play with my heart for the Islanders. It's something that I really want to do. I'm not coming here as a hero, I'm not coming here to score 50 goals or do as many points or block shots, I'm just coming here to give my 110 (percent) every day. Hopefully I'll help the team to win." -- Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Brendan Lemieux
Artemi Panarin -- Ryan Strome -- Jesper Fast
Phillip Di Giuseppe -- Filip Chytil -- Kaapo Kakko
Julien Gauthier -- Brett Howden -- Greg McKegg
Brendan Smith -- Jacob Trouba
Tony DeAngelo -- Marc Staal
Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox
Alexandar Georgiev
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratched: None
Injured: Igor Shesterkin (rib fracture), Pavel Buchnevich (soreness), Micheal Haley (core muscle)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Brock Nelson -- Derick Brassard
Michael Dal Colle -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Josh Bailey
Matt Martin -- Otto Koivula -- Leo Komarov
Andy Greene -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Semyon Varlamov
Thomas Greiss
Scratched: Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andrew Ladd, Noah Dobson
Injured: Cal Clutterbuck (wrist), Casey Cizikas (lacerated leg), Adam Pelech (Achilles)

Status report

The Rangers did not hold a morning skate. Kreider did not practice Monday because of illness. Smith will replace defenseman Brady Skjei, who was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday. … Bailey did not participate in the morning skate but will play. … Brassard, who sustained an upper-body injury Wednesday at the Colorado Avalanche, wore a face shield at the morning skate and will play. … Clutterbuck, a forward who has been out since Dec. 19, did skate but remains on long-term injured reserve.

Stat pack

The Rangers have won their past two road games against the Islanders, including a 3-2 victory at Nassau Coliseum on Jan. 16. … Strome has four goals and seven assists during an eight-game point streak; Zibanejad has a seven-game point streak (six goals, seven assists). … Eberle (three goals, two assists) and Nelson (one goal, three assists) have three-game point streaks.