EAST MEADOW, NY -- The New York Islanders have the opportunity to help their playoff chances on Tuesday night when they host the New York Rangers at UBS Arena for the first time this season.
The first two meetings between these two cross-town rivals went the way of the Rangers, who mounted the comeback for a 6-5 overtime win at MetLife Stadium before a 5-2 crushing defeat at Madison Square Garden.
Here are the keys to the Islanders getting some redemption against the Blue Shirts in a monumental matchup with significant playoff implications.
1. Turnovers
In the first two games against the Rangers, the Islanders turned the puck over 11 times, and while that's not a high number, the timing of the turnovers proved costly.
They've been outscored 7-3 at 5-on-5 but have kept the scoring chances pretty close, out-chanced by one, 43-42.
"Not turning the puck is key because they obviously have some high-end talent, with Panarin and then those guys, so we want to limit our turnovers," Islanders forward Matt Martin said. "We got to make them come 200 feet to score. We've done a good job of that as of late, playing the right way so it's important for us to stay focused and try not to have any mental lapses."
2. Forechecking
Their transition game is a major part of the Rangers' two wins. The Islanders have struggled to slow down their rivals, who found a way to create dangerous chances off the rush easily the last time these two met.
That's where early, effective forechecking comes into play, but too often did the Islanders get the puck deep against the Rangers at MSG but fail to win the foot race or get to the right areas of the ice, leading to odd-man rushes and goals against.
"I think a lot has to do with the placement of the puck, putting it in spots where it's hard for their defensemen to get back there, be under pressure, make a good pass, followed up by another pass," Islanders forward Kyle Palmieri said. "I think it's putting it in a position where you can get in there and force what you want them to do. So, puck placements. it's such a key -- I don't know if it's really underrated anymore with the way goalies play the puck now. They have two goalies who can play the puck -- I think it's something that you really just need to be smart with where that puck ends up. Obviously, you talked about getting pucks deep and not turning it over, but where you put it has a lot to do with the success of your fore-check."
3. Goaltending
The Rangers have elite talent up front, and this game could very well come down to goaltending. Ilya Sorokin, who started both games against the Rangers, wasn't, shall we say, clutch, and now it's Semyon Varlamov's turn to leave his mark on this season series.
"It's hard to go against Varly right now, between you and I," Roy said. "He's been playing so well, and Ilya has been playing well against Chicago and Columbus, but Varly is in the zone. He was really good against the Panthers and was very good in Tampa, even if we lost. He was really good against the Flyers.
"He was phenomenal against Nashville in the last game, so it's hard to go against him."
In 23 career games against the Rangers, Varlamov is 13-8-2 with a 2.62 GAA, a .914 SV%, and five shutouts.
Since joining the Islanders, Varlamov is 7-5-1 against the Rangers, with a 2.36 GAA and a .919 SV%.
4. Special Teams
Despite being the best team in the NHL, the Rangers' weakness is their 5-on-5 game.
The Rangers have scored 269 goals this season, the sixth most in the NHL.
However, they are 15th in goals at 5-on-5, with 163, having scored 62 goals on the power play.
Against the Islanders this season, the Rangers are 3-for-6 on the power play. The Islanders power play is 2-for-6.