New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 4/1/2022

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY

Where to watch: MSG+, MSG

DraftKings: Rangers -165, Islanders +145

BetMGM: Rangers -160, Islanders +130

Caesars: Rangers -169, Islanders +145

Islanders: 30-27-9

Rangers: 44-19-5

With all the talk of the Colorado Avalanche and Florida Panthers making waves as the top two teams in the NHL, I think we need to start asking if we’re sleeping on/overlooking the New York Rangers as perennial Stanley Cup contenders.

 

I don’t think it’s a matter of thinking we’ve completely ignored the Rangers. It’s hard to do so with a 44-win team that can easily hit 50 with 14 games remaining, starting with a matchup against the New York Islanders in Madison Square Garden on Friday.

 

The Rangers have all the ingredients to make a championship run. They have a dynamic forward group with Artemi Panarin and 46-goal scorer Chris Kreider. On the back end, reigning Norris Trophy winner Adam Fox is still one of the best young defensemen in the league and is blooming into one of the best blue liners in the game.

 

And of course, there’s Igor Shesterkin in goal as this year’s likely Vezina Trophy winner and has certainly put himself in conversation for the Hart Trophy. All of this, in Gerard Gallant’s first year with the Rangers, has got New York as an under-the-radar-type group. Now with the addition of Andrew Copp at the trade deadline, because who can forget that, the Rangers are one of the deeper teams in the league.

 

Copp scored the game-winning overtime goal on Wednesday in a 5-4 win over the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Panarin had a goal and two assists, and Alexandar Georgiev overcame a rough four-goal-allowed night on 26 shots to get the win.

 

“I expected us not to be the same as last night,” coach Gerard Gallant said after his team was coming off a 3-2 win in Pittsburgh the night before. “You want to be the same, the players want to be the same, but it’s just not the same atmosphere. We got off to a bit of a rough start and it was a lot of back-and-forth.”

 

It’s hard to get that kind of consistency on a back-to-back, especially when you’ve played on the road and played a fourth game in five days. But that’s why this Rangers team is so good and Gallant’s coaching style works in this sense. It’s a fast team that will capitalize on the rush and score goals at will. Combine that with good goaltending and it’s like the 2018 Vegas Golden Knights all over again, or something like that.

 

The Rangers return home for this date with the Islanders, a group that has played 100 times better than where they were in the beginning of the season. Of course the whole 13-game road trip or however long it was did not help matters, but the Islanders feel good after sitting at a nice 69 points after winning the home-and-home against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

 

The Islanders are coming off a 5-2 home win over Columbus for their third win in five games. Mat Barzal had a goal and an assist, and Kyle Palmieri added a goal for the Islanders to catch the Blue Jackets in the standings at the very least. New York still isn’t in position to make the playoffs this season, but playing for pride is going to be something to behold.

 

“When we stick to our game, we can be very effective against anyone,” Islanders defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "I thought we did a good job of responding in the third and just played our game.”

 

Added coach Barry Trotz: “There’s no quit in the group, there hasn’t been all year. There’s been at times maybe some frustration, but there’s never been any quit where they, you know, they throw up their hands and just walk away. There’s none of that at all.”

Nothing like Gallant vs. Trotz like it’s the 2018 Stanley Cup Final all over again. Given the difference in talent this time around, there’s no need to think the Islanders’ goaltending situation will get the better of the Rangers this time around. The Rangers are just too good right now and anything different would be sort of surprising at this point. One thing I’d be curious about is how they come back home after a time-consuming road trip, but with Shesterkin back in net, I don’t think this is much of a concern. Rangers win 4-2

The Islanders are 8-8 against division opponents this season.

The Islanders are 55-54 when playing their fourth game in seven days over the last three seasons.

The Rangers are 20-6 after an over this season.

The Rangers are 16-10 this season after scoring three goals or more in two straight games.

Islanders:

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Anthony Beauvillier

Josh Bailey -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Kyle Palmieri

Zach Parise -- Mathew Barzal -- Oliver Wahlstrom

Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Kieffer Bellows

Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock

Zdeno Chara -- Noah Dobson

Sebastian Aho -- Grant Hutton

Semyon Varlamov

Rangers:

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Frank Vatrano

Artemi Panarin -- Andrew Copp -- Dryden Hunt

Alexis Lafreniere -- Filip Chytil -- Barclay Goodrow

Tyler Motte -- Jonny Brodzinski -- Ryan Reaves

Ryan Lindgren -- Adam Fox

K'Andre Miller -- Jacob Trouba

Patrik Nemeth -- Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Points: Brock Nelson -- 49

Goals: Brock Nelson -- 32

Assists: Mat Barzal -- 33

Goalie: Ilya Sorokin -- 22-14-7, 2.30 GAA, .927 SV%

Points: Artemi Panarin -- 80

Goals: Chris Kreider -- 46

Assists: Artemi Panarin -- 62

Goalie: Igor Shesterkin -- 32-9-3, 2.11 GAA, .936 SV%