Rangers, Islanders on Wednesday Night Rivalry
Bragging rights in the Empire State will be up for grabs this Wednesday (8:00 PM ET, NBCSN) when the New York Islanders host the New York Rangers. So far, the Rangers are having the better season at 17-6-2, but the Islanders are just six points back in the Metropolitan Division at 13-8-4. This will be their first meeting of the year. The Rangers skate into Wednesday’s game with two injuries of note: centre Derek Stepan (six goals, six assists) is out for the next four to six weeks with broken ribs, and defenseman Kevin Klein (three goals, three assists, and +11) is uncertain to play after he strained a muscle in Monday’s 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes (+175 away). Over in Brooklyn, the Islanders are relatively healthy coming out of Monday’s 5-3 victory over the Colorado Avalanche (+140 away). Usually it’s the Rangers who do the damage against the puck line; they’re up 9.54 betting units on a 13-12 ATS record, while the Islanders are 2.00 units in the black at 13-12 ATS. The Blueshirts have a goal differential of +0.84 this year, and their crosstown rivals are at +0.48 through the first 25 games of the regular season.