New York Islanders plays host to New York Rangers in the sixth and final meeting between the two – NHL Previews
New York Islanders will play host to New York Rangers in one of Thursday’s games at the Nassau Coliseum. This is the sixth and final meeting between the two teams during the course of the season.
Out of the five games that have already taken place between the two teams during the course of the season, Islanders won the first game, 6-4, but Rangers has won all of the last four games.
The most recent game of the series was played on the 15th of March that saw Rangers coming up with a decent effort and winning the game by 6-3 in the end with Marian Gaborik scoring the winning goal.
This is one of the toughest rivalries in the National Hockey League and things are going to be very entertaining.
Islanders is out of the playoff’s picture and Rangers lost the game against Sabres which pushed it to the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
This gives a chance to Islanders to hand its fiercest rivals with a big blow with Hurricanes breathing down its neck to clinch a playoff spot.
Islanders made a strong start to the season which saw a downfall in the middle. It got back once again but after that injuries have hurt it a great deal.
Its slim chances of making it into the cut were really hurt badly when its main players went out due to injuries.
Islanders is now at the 14th position in the Eastern Conference and from the looks of it may slip to the last spot.
The last game saw it up against New Jersey Devils where it came back to erase a two-goal deficit. Unfortunately, it lost the game with Devils scoring late in the period.
"This team can't go through anything more than what they've been through this year", Islanders’ goaltender, Rick DiPietro, said. "It's disappointing but we've got to bounce back".
Islanders has played 77 games so far out of which it has won 29 games in regulation time and 12 games in overtime to score a total of 70 points.
On the other hand, Rangers has played 77 games as well out of which it has won 41 games in regulation time and five games in overtime to score a total of 87 points.
Rangers thought that it would face quite some problems with its starting goalie missing but the replacement, Jhonas Enroth, came up with a decent performance as well. However, Rangers lost its last game against New Jersey Devils by 3-2.
"You can't play Game 77 like it is Game 25 for 40 minutes", Rangers’ coach, John Tortorella, said. "They were the more desperate team and (the way we played) in the first two periods was unacceptable. This was an opportunity lost".
The game is pretty much in the balance with both teams losing their last game and looking to win with Rangers requiring the win to stay in the playoff’s cut.
Tags: