Islanders are thinking about playing the Rangers tonight, not later this month
Matt Martin paused as he searched for the answer. He paused again, then continued to pause.
So, no, the longtime Islanders left wing could not recall the last time the Rangers had come to UBS Arena prior to Tuesday night’s match with critical postseason implications for the hosts and a potential, long-awaited playoff series between the New York rivals looming.
The answer: 531 days ago on Oct. 26, 2022.
“I’m sure it’s a little weird, especially for the fan bases,” Martin said. “As much as everyone hates each other, they also, I would think, love these types of games. It just kind of puts New York into a little bit of a frenzy and it’s a lot of fun. I don’t really control the scheduling so I don’t think much about it.”
Tuesday was technically the Islanders’ second home game against the Rangers this season — the first being a 6-5 overtime loss on Feb. 18 at MetLife Stadium before an outdoor crowd of 79,690. The Rangers, legally, are not permitted to play home games anywhere but Madison Square Garden.
Last season, the teams played just three times, all before the Christmas break. So the Islanders’ 3-0 win in their seventh game of the 2022-23 campaign marked the last time the Rangers visited Long Island.
“It’s definitely weird,” said Kyle Palmieri, who was born in Smithtown and grew up in Montvale, New Jersey, following both the Rangers and Devils. (His father, though, always remained a staunch Islanders fan.)
“When you look at that rivalry over the years, that’s kind of the thing that makes it the best. Everyone is so mixed and intermingled — people’s co-workers, people you go to school with — you have those alliances. It just makes it such a unique thing to be this close and have this many teams.”
Intensifying the importance of the Rangers’ rare visit to UBS Arena — plus the Islanders’ return visit to Madison Square Garden on Saturday afternoon for their season-series finale — are the playoff implications.
The Rangers are likely to finish first in the Metropolitan Division, could finish with the most points in the NHL and entered Tuesday one win shy of setting a franchise record with 54 and three points shy of matching the franchise record of 113.
The Islanders started the game in third place in the Metropolitan Division but just one point ahead of the Penguins and two ahead of the Capitals. So they also could slip to the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot — and a likely first-round matchup against the Rangers — though they were just one point ahead of the Red Wings.
Or the Islanders and Rangers could meet in the playoffs for the first time since the Rangers’ four-game, first-round sweep in 1994 en route to the Stanley Cup if the Islanders finish third and both teams advance to the second round.
“I haven’t thought about that,” Brock Nelson said. “It’s probably a little too far for us right now. Things have changed fast from where we were on the outside looking in [at the playoffs] and now we’re in a third divisional spot. For right now, it’s the intensity and atmosphere of this one game and the importance of it for the last five [games] and the playoff picture.”
“I’m not there, I’m sorry,” coach Patrick Roy said when asked about a potential playoff series between the Islanders and Rangers.
So Roy was not ready to speculate what the Islanders could establish against the Rangers, who won the first two games between the teams this season, with strong outings on Tuesday and Saturday if they do meet in the playoffs.
The Islanders entered Tuesday having won five of six, starting with a 3-2 road victory against the playoff-bound Panthers on March 28.
“I think it started when we played the Panthers,” Roy said. “We won against a very good hockey team, a big game. I thought that brought a lot of confidence to our group. And that’s all you want to do. See what we can continue to improve and what is working well for us. Every time you are challenged by a very good hockey club, you have a better idea of where you are.”
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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