Hrivik to Play Against Islanders on Tuesday

The Rangers will be without forward Michael Grabner Tuesday against the Islanders following the death of his grandmother.
Marek Hrivik, who was recalled on Monday from Hartford (AHL) and practiced with the team, will fill in in his absence.

"From my understanding from guys that have seen him from our staff, he's been playing well," head coach Alain Vigneault said after Monday's practice. Hrivik leads the Wolf Pack in scoring this season with eight goals and nine assists for 17 points in 20 games.
Vigneault said Grabner would rejoin the team in Winnipeg.
Hrivik registered an assist and was a plus-3 in five games with the Rangers a season ago. He said that experience is beneficial entering his second stint with the Blueshirts.
"I think it was a pretty good experience," Hrivik said. "Obviously it was a very good team and they were playing well, so I had to adjust pretty quick. Just play well, play my A-game to fit in. I tried to do that. It was the best experience."
The 25-year-old skated on a line with Brandon Pirri and Matt Puempel in practice.
Vigneault said either Josh Jooris or Oscar Lindberg would be the healthy scratch up front against the Islanders.
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Tuesday marks the second meeting of the season and first at Barclays Center for the Rangers and Islanders this season. And as always, the players are excited for what should be a physical and emotional contest.
"Rangers Islanders is always a lot of fun," defenseman Marc Staal said. "It's a great rivalry. They're always very intense, very competitive games. I think everyone here is looking forward to it."

Tuesday's game kicks off a stretch for the Rangers that have them playing three games in four nights, and four games in six nights. Henrik Lundqvist said a good start with a strong performance against the Islanders on Tuesday is important.
"A day off yesterday, a good skate today. Try to prepare for a pretty intense week," Lundqvist said. "A lot of hockey, big games coming up starting tomorrow against the Islanders. It's a good challenge for us. It seems like they're heating up a little bit, starting to win a little bit more and probably more confident. They're always a tough team to play. A lot of skill up front."
With that said, Lundqvist stated it's always special when the Rangers face a rival like the Islanders, especially when the Rangers are well represented in an opponent's rink.
"I enjoy it. As a player when you can feel it's a little different atmosphere in the building, you feed from that," Lundqvist said. "You play the New York teams, maybe even Philly, Pittsburgh - there's a few teams where you can sense it's a little different sometimes. It's more fun to play when you feel like it matters more to other people. You go out there and try to enjoy it, but at the same time, you want to win that game. [The Islanders are] going to come hard, I know that."
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Forward Pavel Buchnevich skated on his own for the first time after Monday's practice as he continues to deal with a back injury.
Vigneault said Buchnevich's progress has been positive and he hopes the rookie keeps moving in the right direction.
"He's been following his program to the letter," Vigneault said of Buchnevich, who has missed 11 games. "Everyone that's working with him right now feels real good about the progression he's made and the next step obviously is taking this to the ice and seeing how he's going to respond."
Vigneault said Buchnevich could travel with the team later this week to Winnipeg and Chicago, but that he would not play in either game.