After dropping their first game of the weekend against the Ottawa Senators, the New York Islanders (29-22-15) take the ice 24 hours later against the New York Rangers (44-19-4).
After dropping their first game of the weekend against the Ottawa Senators for a third straight loss, the New York Islanders (29-22-15) take the ice 24 hours later against the New York Rangers (44-19-4).
Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 1:00 p.m.
The last time the two New York rivals met was at MetLife Stadium just under a month ago. New York held a 3-1 lead after 20 minutes of play and a 4-3 lead after 40. Despite gaining a 5-3 lead in the third, back-to-back power-play goals by the Rangers allowed them to force overtime, which lasted only six seconds.
After a Noah Dobson turnover, Artemi Panarin scored the game-winner to give the Rangers the win on the big stage.
Where They've Been:
Like the Islanders, the Rangers enter Sunday's game on the second game of a back-to-back, facing the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. The two teams traded goals across the first half of play, sitting in a 3-3 tie entering the late stages of the second period. However, four of the last five goals came from the Rangers, guiding them to a 7-4 win.
Panarin had five points in the victory for New York, two goals and three assists, for the fifth such performance of his NHL career; the Islanders were the victims of one of those performances back on Jan. 13, 2020. Five other Rangers had multi-point games, with K'Andre Miller and Chris Kreider sitting second with three points each.
Players To Watch:
Ilya Sorokin will start Sunday's game after Semyon Varlamov starts on Saturday; it will be his 48th start of the season (22-15-11, 2.99 GAA, .910 SV%). He last started in Buffalo on Thursday, where he surrendered three goals on 36 shots in a loss.
Against the Rangers, he is 3-2-1 with a 3.00 GAA and .910 SV%, letting up six goals on 38 shots in the Stadium Series loss last time out.
Five different Islanders lit the lamp in their last meeting, including Mathew Barzal. The Islanders' leader in points has a seven-game point streak against the Rangers entering Sunday's game, totaling three goals and six assists in that span.
Anders Lee also scored a goal against the Rangers in the Stadium Series, which gave him red lights in three straight matchups against them. Despite his turnover, Dobson had a three-assist showing at MetLife, giving him five assists in his last three meetings with the Rangers.
Brock Nelson, who got the Islanders on the board at MetLife, leads his team in goals against the Rangers with 16. Barzal leads in the remaining statistics with 24 assists and 34 points overall.
Jonathan Quick started for the Rangers on Saturday, meaning Igor Shesterkin will make his 45th start of the season on Sunday (28-14-2, 2.60 GAA, .912 SV%).
While Shesterkin has been hot since the All-Star break, he struggled in his last outing against the Tampa Bay Lightning, surrendering five goals on 27 shots in a loss. Shesterkin has also struggled against the Islanders, posting a 3-7-1 record with a 3.32 GAA and .880 SV%, earning the win outdoors despite letting up five goals on 41 shots.
Kreider's three-point game on Saturday extended his point streak to six games, totaling three goals and five assists in that span. Adam Fox also enters play on a three-game point streak, notching two goals and assists each in that span.
Various Rangers players enter Sunday's game on three-game point streaks against the Islanders, including Panarin (two goals and four assists), Vincent Trochek (four goals and two assists), Mika Zibanejad (one goal and two assists), and Adam Fox (four assists).
Kreider leads the Rangers in goals against the Islanders with 16 entering Sunday's matinee; Panarin leads in the remaining offensive categories with 25 assists and 37 points.
New York Islanders Projected Lines:
Brock Nelson - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Anders Lee - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Kyle Palmieri
Pierre Engvall - Casey Cizikas - Simon Holmstrom
Matt Martin - Kyle MacLean - Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov - Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech - Noah Dobson
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
New York Rangers Projected Lines:
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trochek - Alexis Lafreniere
Jimmy Vesey - Alex Wennberg - Kaapo Kakko
Will Cuylle - Barclay Goodrow - Jonny Brodzinski
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Braden Schneider
Zac Jones - Erik Gustafsson
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
How To Watch:
Sunday's game will be a TNT-exclusive broadcast. On the radio, the contest will air on 88.7 FM WRHU, 103.9 LI News Radio, and 1050 AM ESPN.