The Rangers head into Long Island tonight looking for their first win in four tries against their division rivals. Both teams come in hot, with the Blueshirts having won three in a row and the Islanders on a four-game win streak. The Rangers trail the division leading Islanders by four points with two games in hand and are two back of Pittsburgh with two games in hand.
For the Rangers, the only lineup question tonight is whether Dan Boyle will be healthy enough to play after missing Saturday's game with an illness. If Boyle can go, either Matt Hunwick or John Moore will be scratched. I would likely scratch Hunwick, as Moore's speed and skill slightly outweigh Hunwick's better defensive positions. (Update 6:30PM: Boyle is in, Hunwick in, Moore out). For the Islanders, they are once again without Kyle Okposo, but Anders Lee has more than made up for his absence after sliding onto the top line with John Tavares and Josh Bailey, notching three goals and nine assists his last five games.
The Islanders have dominated the three games, the final score in each not reflecting just how much of a lopsided contest the game was.
For the Rangers to win, here are a few keys:
Strong start. The Islanders have outscored the Rangers 13-4 in the the three games with the Blueshirts having the lead in one of the three games. They have scored one goal in the three first periods. The Rangers are 27-5-2 when scoring first, but that number is outweighed by the struggles they have had against the Islanders in general, especially when they get behind.
Remain disciplined. When the Rangers have fallen behind, their game plan seems to go out the window. Players are all over the place, not staying in their lanes, enabling the Islanders to counter-attack at will while also taking advantage of huge defensive holes in the Blueshirts' zone. The Rangers must do a better job of avoiding the major gaffes while sticking with the style of play.
Show some mental fortitude. Larry Brooks put it very well today why the Rangers have lost all three games: "The Islanders have dominated in every phase of the game, beating the Blueshirts to the puck, hemming in the defense with a heavy and relentless forecheck. They’ve created chaos in the Rangers’ end, storming the net at every opportunity.... The Brooklyn-bound team has taken away the Rangers’ time and space, disrupting the quick breakout and up-tempo Point A-to-Point B attack. They’ve gotten in their way, in their faces, and they seem to have gotten in the Rangers’ heads, as well."
It's the latter part that is the more concerning. You can given up the advantage positionally and on the scoreboard, but once that mental edge is lost, it's all over. The Islanders have been the big bully on the beach, pushing the Rangers around with little push back. When outplayed, the Rangers have lacked the ability to stand up for themselves and push back. Tonight, if they trail or are getting outplayed, they need to push back, not just for tonight or just against the Islanders but to send a message the rest of the way and to the NHL as a whole.
Meet the fourth line's challenge. Up front, the Rangers can match the Islanders' top two lines. The play of the Hagelin-Hayes-Miller line lately evens that score. But the fourth line of Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck (now McDonald) has kicked the Rangers' tails up and down the ice, dominating each shift they played. Stempniak-Moore-Glass need to find a way to neutralize that line if they are on against them. In addition, their play has to match that of the Islanders fourth line in terms of impact on the game or at least not getting substantially outplayed.
It should be a fun one tonight at the Nassau Coliseum.