One of hockey's greatest rivalries comes to a head with massive playoff implicaions as the Islanders and Rangers get set to meet at Madison Square Garden on Thursday in New York City.
The Isles have won two straight games and have 97 points with three games remaining on their schedule. The Blueshirts, meanwhile, have 99 points with just two games remaining on their slate.
In the season series, the Islanders have won all three meetings between these two teams.
The Rangers own the third and final playoff spot in the Metropolitan Division, just three points behind the Penguins (102), while the Islanders are only two points behind the Blueshirts, owning the top Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
The Isles are coming in off of a big come-from-behind 4-3 ovetime win against the Capitals on Tuesday. Thomas Hickey notched the game-winning tally.
"I think it goes back to the last month with a lot of the injuries we've faced, and we've been a resilient team," coach Jack Capuano told MSG Network after the game. "I just want to make sure that we are doing the right things [heading into the playoffs]."
The Rangers, who have also won two games in a row, erased a 2-0 deficit against the Lightning on Tuesday to win 3-2 after two goals by Derek Stepan and a tally by Chris Kreider.
The Blueshirts are without defenseman Dan Girardi and Ryan McDonagh due to injury.
"It's not good, definitely not at this time of the year," goalie Henrik Lundqvist told Blueshirtsunited.com after the game. "I really hope that it's not too serious, but we just have to wait and see. He's a guy who plays hard and doesn't go down unless it's really painful, so I'm just going to hope for the best here. He's a big part of this team."
Game Preview & Live Stream
Details: Islanders (44-26-9, 97 points) at Rangers (45-26-9, 99 points)
Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, N.Y.
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Radio: Islanders (WRHU 88.7); Rangers (99.8 ESPN)
Betting Odds: The latest betting odds can be found here.
Watch Online: This game can be live streamed here (with subscription).
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