Preview: Rangers Head East to Brooklyn to Take on Islanders

Rangers (27-25-5, 59 pts) at Islanders (27-25-6 60 pts)

7 pm; Barclays Center, Brooklyn

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

The Rangers are still looking for their first win against the Islanders this season, having dropped both contests - one in a shootout - earlier this season at Madison Square Garden.
The Islanders come in one point ahead of the Rangers in the Eastern Conference standings, with just one win in its last five games. The Islanders have allowed four or more goals in four of those games, including six against the Red Wings in its only win during that span.
The Islanders have allowed the most goals in the NHL by a wide margin, as their 214 goals against is 19 more than second-worst Arizona. What's kept them in the race this season is their high-powered offense, which has scored 194 goals, second behind Tampa for the top spot in the NHL.
John Tavares leads the club with 63 points, while his 29 goals are tied with Anders Lee for the club lead. Josh Bailey is having the best season of his career with a career-best 47 assists and 61 points. Mathew Barzal has 43 assists and 59 points in 58 games, and is a favorite to win the Calder Trophy as the top rookie.
Both Jaroslav Halak and Thomas Greiss have struggled this season, with Halak victorious in just 17 of his 37 starts to go along with a 3.25 GAA. Greiss, meanwhile, is 10-7-2 but has a GAA of 4.03 and an .885 SV%.

Players to Watch

The Rangers power play has been effective as of late, with Mika Zibanejad scoring the game-winner with the man advantage last Friday against the Flames. The center has a point in eight of his last 11 games against the Islanders, posting two goals and seven assists during that span.
Barzal registered his third five-point game of the season in that dramatic 7-6 overtime victory last week against Calgary, with the second coming against the Rangers in January. The 20-year-old has a nine-point advantage over Vancouver's Brock Boeser in the rookie scoring race.

Say What?

"We've got our biggest game of the year so far [tonight]. We've got to come up with a real good performance. We're due, I think. We haven't been real good against the Islanders the last few games. I think we're due to have a real solid game, a full 200-foot game at both ends. That's what I'm looking for from my group [tonight]." - Alain Vigneault on facing the Islanders

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have earned at least one point in 17 of their last 29 games against the Islanders, dating back to Nov. 15, 2011 (13-12-4 record over the span).