Islanders at Rangers
THE STORY: The New York Islanders are showing some mettle on the road. Coach Jack Capuano's club will look to complete a sweep of a three-game road trip on Thursday when they visit Madison Square Garden to face the rival New York Rangers. Victories over the Northwest Division-leading Minnesota Wild and Winnipeg Jets have boosted the Islanders' mark to 5-1-1 in their last seven road tilts. "We've got to keep playing like that on the road," Islanders right wing P.A. Parenteau said. "(Winnipeg) was a tough building to play in. We have a lot of young players and I think we showed a lot of character (on Tuesday)." For what it's worth, the Rangers have made Madison Square Garden a tough place to play this season. Coach John Tortorella's club is 8-3-2 at home this campaign. Henrik Lundqvist continues to be the backbone of the Rangers' success, and he has handled the Islanders during his career. The 29-year-old Swede has posted a 22-11-5 mark versus the Long Island residents.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG, MSG+
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (11-14-6): G Evgeni Nabokov stepped in for an injured Al Montoya and turned aside all 19 shots he faced in regulation and overtime on Tuesday. Montoya was run over by Winnipeg's Evander Kane, who drew a penalty on the play. Capuano has not divulged the identity of Thursday's starting netminder. Frans Nielsen converted his chances in the shootout against both the Wild and Jets to improve to 18-for-31 in his career. The 58.1 percent total is the best in NHL history with a minimum of 10 attempts.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (19-8-4): Marian Gaborik secured one milestone in his last game - and he's on the verge of another. Gaborik collected a pair of goals and added an assist to record his 600th career NHL point during Tuesday's 4-1 triumph over the Atlantic Division rival New Jersey Devils. "It's a pretty nice milestone," Gaborik said. "The most important thing is it helped us win." With his next assist, he'll hit 300 for his career.
OVERTIME:
1. Islanders D David Ullstrom left Tuesday's game after crashing back-first into the boards in overtime. His status for Thursday is uncertain.
2. Making his NHL debut, Rangers D Stu Bickel recorded his first career point after assisting on Gaborik's shorthanded goal.