The Islanders are 9-1-0 in their past 10 games against the Rangers, including 2-0-0 this season. The Islanders, 2-5-1 in their past eight games, trail the Carolina Hurricanes by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference. The Rangers are last in the Metropolitan Division, one point behind the Islanders, and 2-5-0 in their past seven games.
Players to watch
Rangers center Kevin Hayes has five points (two goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak. Islanders center Mathew Barzal has six assists in his past three games and 22 points (three goals, 19 assists) in his past 16 games.
They said it
"We've got our biggest game of the year so far. We haven't been real good against the Islanders in the last few games and I think we're due to have a real solid game, a full 200-foot game at both ends. That's what I'm looking for from my group." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault "You look at the standings and you realize how close you are. Teams have a couple of games in hand on us but we have to make sure we do whatever it takes to put the pressure on them and force them to feel the pressure of chasing us." -- Islanders center Casey Cizikas
Buchnevich was scheduled to skate with Rangers scratches. He and Kreider returned to practice wearing non-contact jerseys Wednesday. … McDonagh remains day to day and Staal is skating on his own. … Fritz replaces Chimera after missing five games with an upper-body injury.
Stat pack
The Rangers have scored two goals or fewer in seven of their past 11 games. ... The Islanders are last in the NHL in goals against (213), goals against per game (3.67) and shots against per game (35.8). They allowed 51 shots in a 4-1 loss against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
