Rangers at Islanders
The New York Rangers are the hottest team in hockey and will hope to continue that momentum at the expense of their nearest rival when they cross boroughs to visit the New York Islanders on Thursday night. The surging Rangers are perfect in February, improving to 6-0-0 following Monday's 3-2 victory at Columbus.
“We're doing a lot of good things each game and playing really good defensively and keeping our scoring chances down resulting in some wins," defenseman Dan Girardi said after the Rangers were victorious in the first of three straight games against Metropolitan Division rivals. The Islanders were on a tear of their own before absorbing a 7-1 drubbing at Toronto, a loss that prevented them from moving leapfrogging the Maple Leafs for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. "We want to be a little sharper, be a little better, probably be a little bit grittier than we were tonight for our next game," Islanders captain John Tavares said after the defeat. The New York rivals have split their first two meetings this season, with each posting a two-goal victory on their home ice.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVAS, MSG, MSG-Plus2
ABOUT THE RANGERS (37-18-1): With his team on a roll, it would be easy for Alain Vigneault to stand pat but he opted to bench rookie Pavel Buchnevich in place of Matt Puempel for Thursday's game. Buchnevich, who missed two months due to back issues, has been limited to one assist over his last 10 games. "He’s a skilled player that has the ability to make plays with the puck and that’s what we need from him," Vigneault said. "But there’s always a learning curve and he’s going through it.”
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (25-20-10): Jason Chimera scored New York's lone goal against Toronto on a penalty shot, his ninth tally in the past 16 games, although he has registered only one assist in the past 22 contests. Since Doug Weight took over for the fired Jack Capuano, the Islanders are 8-3-2 overall and own a nine-game point streak (7-0-2) at Barclays Center, their longest at home since a 6-0-3 run in 2003-04. Since his scoring tear in mid-January, Tavares has one goal in 11 games.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist needs one win to tie Chris Osgood (401) for 11th place on the career list.
2. The Islanders have won five of the past six meetings, allowing four goals in their three home victories.
3. Rangers F Kevin Hayes has two goals and five assists during a four-game point streak.