The New York Rangers are putting together a string of strong performances on the road, going 7-1-1 on their travels.
On home ice, the Rangers are turning in starkly different showings, and they hope to stop a maddening six-game skid in front of their fans Saturday night when they face the New York Islanders.
Since a 5-1 loss at Calgary on Oct. 26, the Rangers are 4-1-0 in their past five. The one defeat was a 3-0 setback to the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, a result that dropped the Rangers to 0-5-1 on home ice and marked the fourth time they were blanked at home.
The Rangers have matched their lowest-ever point total through the first six home games of a season. The 1943-44 team started with five straight home losses before earning a tie. The 1950-51 Rangers also were winless through six home contests, but they had three draws in that span.
The Rangers, who have the NHL’s best road record and worst home record, are returning home after earning a 4-1 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Friday night.
Artemi Panarin collected a goal and two assists after he was held without a point in his previous six games. He has three goals this season after scoring 37 last season and a career-best 49 in 2023-24.
“Our best players were our best players. I think that’s an important element of the game tonight,” Rangers coach Mike Sullivan said postgame. “These guys, they care a lot. I’ve been saying that for a while now. They care a lot. It hasn’t been for a lack of effort that we haven’t generated the offense from a goal-scoring standpoint. I think they’re very capable, and they showed that tonight.”
Alexis Lafreniere collected a goal and an assist and Will Cuylle and rookie Noah Laba also scored for the Rangers, who enter Saturday with six goals in their six games on home ice.
The Islanders will unveil standout rookie Matthew Schaefer to their rivalry with the Rangers as they aim to avoid a third straight loss. Schaefer has five goals, including a two-goal showing in a 3-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Sunday, and 11 points.
The Islanders are 2-3-2 over their past seven contests since winning four straight from Oct. 16-23. They are coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Minnesota Wild on Friday, when they allowed at least five goals for the fourth time.
“We have to reset,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said postgame. “Big rivalry game (coming). Energy should be there. Let’s go reset and wipe this one away, the recipe tonight wasn’t going to work for us and we’re going to have to play a much better game tomorrow.”
The Islanders allowed two goals in the first period and were seemingly out of sorts throughout. Emil Heineman and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored, but Schaefer committed a costly turnover resulting in Minnesota’s third goal.
“Tonight we didn’t execute as a group, we didn’t compete as well as they did,” Islanders coach Patrick Roy said. “I’m not looking for excuses for our group, I just feel like tonight they were the better team.”
The Rangers won all four meetings with the Islanders by a combined 23-5 margin last season. The Rangers are 8-1-0 in the teams’ past nine encounters.
