The Islanders look to close out a very successful road trip on a high note against the Rangers at the Garden. The Isles are 5-1 on their longest road trip of the season. It's nice to sleep in your own bed for the last two nights of the road trip.
The Islanders are fortunate to be 5-1 on this trip. They have played down to their opponents for the majority of this trip. They will certainly need to pick up their play with six of their next seven games against playoff teams.
Calvin de Haan aggravated his lower-body injury and will not play. de Haan returned Tuesday after missing the previous five games. Ryan Pulock will be a healthy scratch. It's been killing Cappy not to have both Brian Strait and Marek Zidlicky in the lineup. Both have been in the press box for the past two games. One of them, presumably Strait, was going to replace de Haan. Pulock, who made his NHL debut Sunday in Edmonton, has done nothing to give the coaching staff a reason to bench him. It just boils down to Cappy not having faith in his young players. That is a real cause for concern. Garth Snow does not like to trade any of his prospects and Cappy doesn't want to play them. There seems to be a disconnect.
The Islanders are 2-0 against the Rangers this season. Both wins came at the Barclays Center. They trail the Blueshirts by five points with three games in hand. This will likely be the first round matchup in the playoffs. The only question is which team will host game one.
Henrik Lundqvist is still out after Thursday's freak out. Antti Raanta will start for the second straight game. Jaroslav Halak will start for the first time in a week. Halak is 5-2-0 vs the Rangers as a member of the Islanders.