Islanders Face Rangers With Defensive Changes Aplenty

The Islanders head to Madison Square Garden without Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly after injuries sustained on Friday.

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Nov 03, 2024

NEW YORK, NY — After picking up a gutsy win in Buffalo on Friday, the New York Islanders (4-5-2) face the New York Rangers (7-2-1) in the first matchup between the two rivals this season. Puck drop is at 1:00 p.m., and the Islanders’ game feed can be found on MSGSN; nationally, the game is also available on the NHL Network.

UPDATES & LINEUP:

The Islanders released several injury updates on Saturday, starting with Mathew Barzal. The Islanders’ All-Star will be out 4-6 weeks with an upper-body injury, being placed on Long-Term Injured Reserve retroactive to Oct. 31.

The Islanders lost defensemen Adam Pelech and Mike Reilly to injury on Friday.

Pelech will be out the same amount of time as Barzal due to an upper-body injury. Reilly went down after a hit from Buffalo’s Jordan Greenway in the second period and did not return; he is day-to-day.

On Saturday, defensemen Samuel Bolduc and Grant Hutton were recalled from the Bridgeport Islanders ahead of their anticipated absences. Patrick Roy also said that Alexander Romanov, who was previously day-to-day, will likely play on Sunday.

PROJECTED LINEUP:

Lee-Horvat-Pageau

Tsyplakov-Nelson-Palmieri

Engvall-Cizikas-Holmstrom

Fasching-MacLean-Wahlstrom

Romanov-Dobson

Hutton-Pulock

Cholowski-Mayfield

Sorokin

Varlamov

WHERE THEY STAND:

The Rangers picked up a 2-1 win over the Ottawa Senators on Friday in a low-scoring contest. Artemi Panarin opened the scoring in the first period, and Alexis Lafreniere added on in the third on a power play tally. Ottawa controlled the play in the final 40 minutes and got rewarded with Adam Gaudette scoring to make it 2-1 with 7:30 left, but Igor Shesterkin slammed the door. After a 40-save performance, the Rangers picked up a 2-1 win.

The Islanders hung on to beat the Buffalo Sabres on Friday despite losing Pelech and Reilly due to injuries. Dylan Cozens opened the scoring on a power-play goal in the opening period, but Bo Horvat got it back with a breakaway answer 40 seconds later. The Islanders’ second line once again stepped up in the middle period, with Maxim Tsyplakov and Kyle Palmieri giving New York a 3-1 lead.

Buffalo tried to claw their way back, with Jason Zucker getting the Sabres back within one, but the Islanders once again had an answer from Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Owen Power made it 4-3 with a minute left in regulation, but that was as close as the Sabres would get. Ilya Sorokin finished the night with 32 saves in a 4-3 win.

OPPONENT LAST GAME: Senators 1, Rangers 2

MATCHUP TO WATCH: Igor Shesterkin vs. Ilya Sorokin

As the Islanders and Rangers once again take the ice, it’ll be a matchup of two of the league’s elite in net. Starting on the Islanders’ side is Sorokin, who’s been playing tremendous to start his campaign. Despite a 3-2-1 record, he has a 2.00 GAA and .928 SV% in his first six games. However, he has been hit or miss against the Rangers, boasting a 3-3-2 record with a 3.10 GAA and .909 SV%.

For the Rangers, Shesterkin has continued to play as one of the best goalies in hockey. After his brilliant performance on Friday, he is 5-2-1 with a 2.25 GAA and .931 SV%. However, like Sorokin against the Rangers, Shesterkin does tend to struggle when facing the Islanders, owning a 5-8-1 record with a 3.10 GAA and .890 SV%. In their season series last year, he allowed at least three goals in two of their matchups. With both goalies taking the stage at MSG, both will need to be on their games for their respective teams.

WHO IS HOT:

The Islanders’ second line once again impressed in Friday’s win for the Islanders. Brock Nelson didn’t crack the stats sheet, but Palmieri scored his team-leading fifth goal, while Tsyplakov added a goal and an assist.

Horvat was the Islanders’ leading goal-scorer against the Rangers last season, potting four goals to lead the team. Nelson also averaged over a point per game against the Rangers, tallying three goals and four assists in their four games.

In addition to his recent heroics against the Rangers, Nelson is also the Islanders’ leader in goals against them in his lifetime, boasting 18 for his career, the second most among every NHL team. With Barzal out due to injury, he’s the leader on the active roster in assists and points, with 17 and 35, respectively.

OPPONENT NOTES:

Filip Chytil enters play on a three-game point streak on Sunday. After missing most of last season due to injury, he has a goal and two assists in that span, with a grand total of four goals and four assists for eight points this season.

Artemi Panarin continues to be one of the top forwards in the NHL to start this season. He only has one game this season without at least one point, totaling seven goals and nine assists for 16 points to start the season.

Panarin also has points in his last six games against the Islanders, totaling three goals and six assists for nine points in that stretch. Mika Zibanejad also has a six-game point streak against the Islanders, boasting two goals and four assists in that span.

Chris Kreider leads active Rangers in goals against the Islanders, totaling 17 in his career. Panarin leads the team in assists and points against them with 27 and 40, respectively, in 34 career matchups.

PREGAME READING