This afternoon’s fourth and final meeting of the season between the New York Rangers (53-23-4) and New York Islanders (37-27-15) at Madison Square Garden is sure to be exciting. Third-placed Islanders in the Metropolitan Division can secure a postseason berth today with victories over the Washington Capitals, Pittsburgh Penguins and Detroit Red Wings later tonight, along with some assistance.
With 110 points, the Rangers lead the Eastern Conference, but their lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the division is only one point.
Face-off is scheduled at 12:30 PM EDT, and ABC will broadcast the game nationwide. ESPN+
On Thursday night, the Islanders triumphed over the Montreal Canadiens 3-2 in overtime thanks to a goal by Kyle Palmieri from a tight angle, marking their sixth consecutive victory. The Isles’ other goals came from Pierre Engvall and Casey Cizikas, and they won with just 12 saves from Semyon Varlamov.
As a result of the current situation and the teams pursuing us, Casey Cizikas stated, “we put ourselves in a position where we control our destiny.” We compete every night of the week. Guys are buying into it, as evidenced by what you see and feel in this dressing room.
Facing the Rangers this season, Ilya Sorokin will start in goal for the Islanders for the third time. The team’s franchise goalie, who has struggled at times this season, has been favored by head coach Patrick Roy over Sorokin, who has won each of his past two starts against the Chicago Blackhawks and Columbus Blue Jackets.
If the squad makes the playoffs, Sorokin will have a great chance to solidify his position as the team’s starting goalie. Defenseman Noah Dobson departed Thursday’s game versus Montreal at the beginning the first period due to an upper-body injury, so we’ll also be keeping an eye on his availability. Robert Bortuzzo would sketch if Dobson is incapable of dressing.
Rangers manager Peter Laviolette took issue with Adam Pelech’s inadvertent clash with Mika Zibanejad during the third period, so it may be dramatic when rookie defender Matt Rempe returns to the lineup.
Dobson later double-checked Vincent Trocheck into the discussions as time was running out. In the event that the Blueshirts want revenge, it’s probably Rempe against someone other than Pelech or Dobson.