Game Primer: Rangers Visit Islanders With Division Crown In Sights

With four games remaining in the regular season, the New York Rangers (53-21-4) can lock up the Metropolitan Division title on Tuesday against the New York Islanders (35-27-15).

Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:00 p.m.

The Rangers took the first two rivalry matchups this season, most recently on St. Patrick's Day at Madison Square Garden.

Bo Horvat opened the scoring on a shorthanded tally in the first period, but the Rangers tallied two goals in response from Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle. Horvat's second of the game got the Islanders even, but the Rangers scored three straight to finish the win. Jonny Brodzinski gave the Rangers the lead with five minutes left in the second, and Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere put the game out of reach in the third, finishing a 5-2 win.

The magic number for the Rangers to clinch the division is four, needing points between wins and losses by the Carolina Hurricanes. In addition to a win tonight, they will need help from Carolina's opponent, the Boston Bruins.

The Islanders did their job on Saturday to stay in the playoff race, defeating the Nashville Predators 2-0. Neither team scored in the first period, but Noah Dobson scored the first goal just short of the halfway mark. From there, it was all Semyon Varlamov, who earned a 42-save shutout after a Kyle Palmieri empty-net goal, finishing a 2-0 win. 

The Islanders enter play on Tuesday as the third seed in the Metropolitan Division. If needed, they are one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for that spot and one point ahead of the Detroit Red Wings for the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. 

Igor Shesterkin will make his 53rd start of the season on Tuesday against the Islanders (34-16-3, 2.64 GAA, .911 SV%). Shesterkin earned the win on Sunday with 26 saves against the Canadiens last time out. Against the Islanders, he is 4-7-1 with a 3.21 GAA and .884 SV%, earning the win with 25 saves in their last meeting.

Panarin has been white hot both overall and against the Islanders as of late. Panarin has a four-game point streak against the Islanders with two goals and five assists in that span and a nine-game point streak with eight goals and 13 assists in that span.

The Rangers' two former top picks have three-game point streaks against the Islanders entering play Tuesday; Lafreniere has a goal and three assists in his stretch, while Kakko has two goals and a helper. Adam Fox has also been hot against the Islanders, tallying five assists in his last four matchups.

Despite being kept off the board in their last meeting, Kreider leads the Rangers in goals against the Islanders with 16. Panarin's recent dominance against them gives him the lead in assists and points with 26 and 38, respectively.

Islanders head coach Patrick Roy confirmed Varlamov will make his 25th start of the season on Tuesday (11-8-4, 2.72 GAA, .916 SV%). Varlamov has been the hot hand for the Islanders as of late, most recently earning a 42-save shutout against the Nashville Predators on Saturday. Against the Rangers, he is 13-8-2 with a 2.62 GAA and .914 SV%, most recently making 37 saves in a 4-3 win on Nov. 8, 2022.

Horvat has had the Rangers' number this season, scoring three goals in their first two meetings; he also lit the lamp at the Stadium Series in February. Brock Nelson has also had success against the Rangers this year, totaling a goal and three assists in their two matchups.

Noah Dobson has goals in back-to-back games, scoring the game-winner against Nashville on Saturday. Dobson is two points shy of 70 for the season, he could become the third blueliner to reach the plateau, joining Jean and Denis Potvin.

While Horvat went pointless on Saturday, Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to four games against Nashville; the Islanders All-Star nominee has five assists in that span.

Nelson leads the Islanders in goals against the Rangers with 16. Barzal leads the team in the remaining offensive categories with 24 assists and 34 points.

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jack Roslovic

Artemi Panarin -- Vincent Trochek -- Alexis Lafreniere

Will Cuylle -- Alex Wennberg -- Kaapo Kakko

Barclay Goodrow -- Jonny Brodzinski -- Jimmy Vesey

Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox

K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba

Erik Gustafsson -- Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Jonathan Quick

*Projected lineup from Vince Mercogliano.

Casey Cizikas -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal

Simon Holmstrom -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri

Anders Lee -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Pierre Engvall

Matt Martin -- Kyle MacLean -- Cal Clutterbuck

Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson

Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock

Mike Reilly -- Robert Bortuzzo

Semyon Varlamov

Ilya Sorokin

The Rangers' broadcast for the game will air on MSG 2. On the radio, the game will air on 1050 AM ESPN.