The Rangers have an advantage in the Metropolitan Division, considering they are 2nd in the standings. The Islanders have had a terrible start with a 4-5-2 record under Head Coach Patrick Roy.
Tomorrow won't be any better for the Islanders, as they are missing key pieces in the lineup.
Such as Matthew Barzal(IR), Adam Pelech(IR), Alexander Romanov(DTD), Mike Reilly(DTD), and Anthony Duclair(out).
Duclair is on LTIR with a low-body injury and was supposed to be a top-six solution for the Islanders who lack meaningful scoring talent. Other than just Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat, and Matthew Barzal, who are also out.
With Jimmy Vesey back in the lineup, and Laviolette shuffling the lines for tomorrow, it should be an easy job tomorrow.
It should be, but complacency is deadly and we see it all too often in hockey, as teams falter against "bad" teams, while they succeed against the best.
Can the Rangers stick to the process and win against the Islanders tomorrow?
Chris Kreider gets a new home on the third line, and Will Cuylle gets a look on the second line.
The Islanders may be down, but are they out? The team has recalled Samuel Bolduc, Grant Hutton, and Dennis Cholowski to fill out the ranks.
The team will have a top six of Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-J.G. Pageau, Maxim Tsyplakov-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri(according to DailyFaceOff).
It is arguably a top three more than six.
POLL | ||
Will the New York Rangers have an easy game against a short-handed Islanders squad? | ||
Yes | 125 | 38.1 % |
No | 203 | 61.9 % |
List of polls |