The Rangers head to Brooklyn to face the Islanders for the second time this year. The Blueshirts defeated their divisional rivals 5-3 to start the season. Since then, the Rangers have used that win to springboard to a fine start while the Islanders have scuffed. But, the Islanders have righted the ship of late, winning three straight, including victories over the Penguins and Capitals, before falling 4-3 in overtime to the Red Wings on Sunday.

Despite the hot streak, the Islanders come into the contest 15th in the East, six points out of the second wild-card spot but with seven teams between them and the playoffs. Because the league has become a series of one-goal contests with a propensity for three point games, moving up in the division and conference has become a nightmare. Its for that reason many have suggested that the league needs to adopt a 3-2-1 system that had been suggested in the past. Yes, Regulation plus Overtime wins is a tiebreaker but that has not proven enough of an incentive to go for wins in regulation. Switching to a 3-2-1 system would make late-season contests a lot more interesting and somewhat eliminate playing for overtime.

The Islanders are battling some illnesses, so their lineup today may be in a bit of flux. Josh Bailey and Anders Lee have found their games lately, bolstering John Tavares. The return of Dennis Seidenberg helps their blueline, though Travis Hamonkc has struggled and likely rushed back too soon from his hand injury, adversely impacting his game. Thomas Greiss settled the goaltending situation and likely will be between the pipes after Jaroslav Halak took the defeat Sunday. (Update: 10:30, Halak to start)

For the Rangers, their leading goal scorer Michael Grabner won't be in the lineup. Grabner left the team yesterday to attend his grandmother’s funeral in his native Austria and is expected back for the game against Winnipeg. In his stead, the Rangers called up Marek Hrivik from AHL Hartford, where he had eight goals and nine assists in 20 games. Hrivik, who provides a straight line type of game, bringing some speed and physical play, will start, while either Oscar Lindberg or Josh Jooris sits.

As of now, the top six for the Rangers remains the same as Saturday, meaning:

Vesey-Hayes-Nash
Kreider-Stepan-Zucc

The bottom six is up in the air. Here is my proposal but it remains to be seen how it will play out:

Puempel-Pirri-Miller
Hrivik-Lindberg/Jooris-Fast

The blueline remains the same as Saturday, so McD-G, Staal-Holden and Skjei-Klein. Henrik Lundqvist will be between the pipes again. But if the blue line and the forwards play as they did Saturday, save for Kreider-Stepan-Nash line, we might have to worry about the third period, as the game will be over after two. The lack of puck possession and inability to get out of own zone consistently have been huge issues since their 13-4 start. The Blueshirts are aware of those deficiencies, which I guess is a good thing because the first step to fixing a problem is admitting you have one. But words matter little, results and change do and it remains to be seen if this team can remediate those issues.

The puck possession comment leads me into a small note on the stats debate that dominates every blog conversation and the twitter universe. As you all know, I am not a slave to advanced metrics but failing to realize their importance and impact on the game is putting your head in the sand. Those stats shouldn't drive your complete understanding of the game, but augment and supplement what you see, either confirming pre-conceived and determined notions or correcting them.

It's no coincidence that teams with strong puck possession numbers have won the last seven Cups. Now that's either causation or correlation or the chicken and egg discussion. Which came first, a good team has puck possession because they are good or the puck possession is what makes them good? To dismiss the stats is giving short shrift to how the game is viewed but to. Add everything on them, especially if it sucks the life and enjoyment out of the game, isn't the right approach as well. A happy medium can be reached, though it may take a while longer to get there.

Some good news on the injury front. Pavel Buchnevich, who has been on a conditioning regimen relating to lower-back issues, skated on his own following Monday's practice; the first time the Russian rookie has been on the ice since Nov. 21. Buchnevich (4-4-8 in 10 games) has missed the last 11 matches. If Buchnevich came out of those twirls around the frozen pond without incident, he might make the trip to Winnipeg and Chicago. Buchnevich wouldn't play in those games but would practice, at which point we would get a better sense as to a possible return to action.

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