Islanders at Rangers
Although the New York Islanders reside in the penthouse of the Metropolitan Division, their pesky neighborhood rivals aren't too far removed after winning five in a row and 13 of their last 14. The New York Rangers completed a clean sweep of the California contingent and look to chip into their five-point deficit in the division when they host the Islanders on Tuesday. "It's tough coming back off the road. These are the games that you worry about," said All-Star Rick Nash, who grabbed a share of the league lead with his 26th goal to seal Sunday's 3-1 victory over San Jose and tallied twice in the Rangers' 6-3 setback to the Islanders on Oct. 14.
The Islanders answered a brief two-game skid by topping division rivals New Jersey and Columbus to improve to 4-2-0 on their franchise high-tying seven-game road trip. Kyle Okposo scored in his team's 5-2 triumph over the Blue Jackets on Saturday and joined All-Star John Tavares and Mikhail Grabovski by recording a goal and an assist in the first meeting with the Rangers. The Islanders have won four of their last five at Madison Square Garden.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG (Islanders), MSG Plus (Rangers)
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (28-13-1): Tavares has torched the Rangers since entering the league in 2009, recording 26 points (nine goals, 17 assists) in 27 encounters. Jaroslav Halak, who made 40 saves in the first meeting, has won three straight and five of six versus the Rangers heading into Tuesday's showdown. Halak has recorded 22 victories this season to reside just 10 behind the franchise mark shared by Billy Smith, Chris Osgood and Rick DiPietro.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (24-11-4): Henrik Lundqvist, who will start on Tuesday, is a blistering 11-1-0 with a slim 1.57 goals-against average and .939 save percentage in his last 12 outings. "I feel like every game matters now because of the standings and how every team around us is winning," Lundqvist said. "The Islanders are a team that's right in front of us and we definitely want to close the gap." Chris Kreider scored and set up a goal versus the Sharks, giving him three tallies and two assists in his last five contests.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders own a 12-2-0 mark against Metropolitan Division representatives.
2. Rangers D Dan Girardi missed Monday's practice due to a maintenance day but is expected to play on Tuesday. Girardi has appeared in all 39 games this season.
3. The Islanders have followed up a 7-for-20 stretch on the power play by failing on all 13 opportunities over their last three games.