Game Preview: Rangers v. Sucklanders
The Rangers are away against the New York Islanders tonight – The puck drops at 7:00pm, and the game can be seen locally on MSG.
I’m gonna have to keep this clean, since I have been warned already (see my last postgame for the Islanders). But, I will forge on, loyal 5-Holers.
Rick DiPietro will be watching from home.
I hate the Islanders. I take that back – the Islanders piss me off. They annoy me. They’re like a pimple on my ass that keeps coming back. They’re not really a threat, because they’re horrible – but they’re annoying as all hell.
That being said, the Rangers seem to be coming to the upswing of the regular mid-season slump. Let’s hope I’m right about that. I think I said that before the Montreal game, too. But they’re not playing Montreal tonight, they’re playing the worst mother-effing team in the NHL.
Henrik Lundqvist will be back in net tonight. In the last week, he’s had his first 2 shutouts of the season, which are the 18th and 19th of his NHL career, and also gave up 5 goals against Montreal – the first two of which were 90% his fault. And I’m never one to blame Henrik for a goal. Hopefully tonight will be more of what we saw from him in the games against Pittsburgh and Ottawa, not Montreal.
Joey MacDonald will be in net for the Islanders. Rick DiPietro’s knee is giving him trouble again, which I can only guess was caused by him forgetting to wear kneepads. 
Numbers breakdown:
Islanders record: 12-26-4 – 2-7-1 in their last 10 - 7-9-2 at home
Rangers record: 25-15-4 – 4-4-2 in their last 10 - 11-7-2 on the road
Average goals scored in a game:
Islanders: 2.55
Rangers: 2.50
Average goals allowed in a game:
Islanders: 3.62
Rangers: 2.61
Power Play
Islanders: 17.9%
Rangers: 14%
Penalty Kill:
Islanders: 82.4%
Rangers: 87.7%
About the author: Rory is a recent college graduate from central New Jersey majoring in History and PR. A Ranger fan all her life, the bane of her existence is the New Jersey Devils, and she harbors a severe hatred for Martin Brodeur. Her favorite current Rangers are Henrik Lundqvist, Sean Avery, and Steve Valiquette, and her favorite all-time Rangers are Mike Richter and Jeff Beukeboom. Related posts:
