Preview: Rangers Battle Islanders in Brooklyn

The distance between Agganis Arena and Conte Forum is a little less than five miles, and David Quinn knows the way well from all his times, as a player and coach, taking his Boston University Terriers over to Chestnut Hill to face archrival Boston College.
About the same distance separates Madison Square Garden from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The route may be different, but that old feeling doesn't change.
"There's a little bit more passion, a little bit more pace, a little bit more snarl in these rivalry games," Quinn said. "This should be no different."
"This," of course, would be Thursday night's matchup between the Rangers and Islanders, the first installment of the 2018-19 Battle of New York and a chance for the Rangers, in just their fourth Metropolitan Division match of the season, to build on their seven-game points streak (6-0-1). For Quinn - and for four of his players who will be in uniform on Thursday - it will be a first taste of the Rangers-Islanders rivalry.
"It makes it enjoyable," Quinn said after the Rangers practiced on Wednesday. "The day of the game you can't help but feel the moment. The records kind of go out the window, and it's all about your opponent and the rivalry."

The records, at this early point in the season, are virtually the same: The Rangers (9-7-2) and Islanders (9-6-2) stand level on 20 points and in second place in the Metropolitan Division. But on Thursday, the Blueshirts will be looking to win for the first time at Barclays Center since the Islanders made the move to Brooklyn.
They'll get a boost with the return of Mats Zuccarello, who will suit up against the Islanders after missing the last three games with a groin strain. Zuccarello was a full participant in practice on Wednesday; the winger is tied for fourth on the Rangers with 10 points (3-7-10).

It seemed the Rangers missed him as much in the dressing room as they did in the lineup.
"That's certainly going to help us," Quinn said. "He means so much to our team, not only from an on-the-ice perspective but from a personality standpoint. It's good to have him back."
"It's fun to have him back. A lot of laughter here, a lot of smiles," said Zibanejad, Zuccarello's linemate. "And he's fun to play with. Unbelievable player. Obviously he's been out for a few games so you just want to get the chemistry going back again, and find that back as soon as possible."
Zuccarello will return to the spot he left on the top line, to the right of Zibanejad, but will see a new face over on the left wing. Filip Chytil, who started Monday's game against Vancouver centering the fourth line but played so well in the win that he was on the top unit by the third period, will remain in that spot against the Islanders.
"The way he's played, I think he's earned this opportunity," Quinn said. "I'm anxious to see him build on what's happened over the last few games. The ebbs and flows of a 19-year-old in the National Hockey League, the confidence comes and goes. But I think he's been building towards this over the last few games."
"He was skating well, he was on pucks, hard on pucks and making plays," Zibanejad said. "We've just got to stay on him, keep having him play that way. We'll see how it goes, but I really like the last game he played."
That game included Chytil's first goal of the season, which took until the 18th game and may have been weighing on the talented 19-year-old.
"Right away the next shift (after the goal), you could tell how he carries the puck, and how he skates, how he protects it - just the way he played, it was a big difference," Zibanejad said.
"He looks a little more confident, a little bit more smile on his face," added Quinn. "I'm happy for him too - he's a dynamic player, and he certainly had an awful lot of jump to his game the other night."

The Islanders got a win over Vancouver the night after the Rangers did, 5-2 at Barclays, putting the brakes on a three-game skid that game on the heels of a five-game winning streak. Josh Bailey scored for the third time in three games; he leads the Isles with 18 points (6-12-18).
Thomas Greiss, meanwhile, is third in the League in save percentage (.938) and fourth in goals-against average (1.98). Under first-year coach Barry Trotz, the Islanders as a team are third in the NHL allowing 2.53 goals per game, a season after finishing 31st at 3.57.

PROJECTED LINEUP

72 Chytil - 93 Zibanejad - 36 Zuccarello
20 Kreider - 13 Hayes - 90 Namestnikov
26 Vesey - 21 Howden - 17 Fast
8 McLeod - 50 Andersson - 95 Lettieri
18 Staal - 44 Pionk
76 Skjei - 77 DeAngelo
33 Claesson - 22 Shattenkirk
30 Lundqvist
40 Georgiev

NUMBERS GAME

This will be the Rangers' first game against an Isles team without John Tavares in its lineup since Oct. 11, 2010. Tavares, now a Maple Leaf, had played in the last 37 straight Rangers-Islanders games.
The Rangers averaged 41.3 shots on goal in their four meetings with the Islanders last season, including a season-high 50 on Feb. 15 in Brooklyn.
The Islanders rank 30th in the League in shots per game (27.5).

PLAYERS TO WATCH

In an effort to find Chytil more opportunity, the 19-year-old, who scored his first of the season on Monday, will move up the lineup to play the left wing, which Quinn said may not be ideal and Zibanejad said "would be a little different for him." Chytil's take? "Doesn't matter, it's still hockey."
Mathew Barzal, last year's Calder Trophy winner, has 16 points through 17 games, though just two of them are goals after scoring 22 times in an 85-point rookie season.