Hartnett: Eager To Fix Their Road Woes, Rangers Ready To Take On Isles

By Sean Hartnett
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The Rangers feel they got their groove back during their 2-0-1 homestand. Now, it's time for them to get their act together on the road.

At 7-9-3 away from Madison Square Garden, the Rangers possess the worst road record in the Eastern Conference. A visit to Barclays Center against the rival Islanders could be the tonic needed kick their second half into gear.

A victory Thursday night in Brooklyn would earn the Rangers their first back-to-back wins since Nov. 21-23.

The Rangers head into the matchup with confidence high after pulling off a spirited 2-1 home victory over Boston on Monday. They were chippy, energetic and brave against the Bruins and things now appear to be turning in the right direction.

"We've been playing Rangers hockey the last couple of weeks -- being heavy, playing hard and being tough to play against," forward J.T. Miller said. "It just makes it a little harder for the opposition. I think it's really paid off in the last three games. I see a lot of positives."

An important trend carrying over from game to game has been the Rangers' focus on getting good body position in front of the opposition's goalie. They seem prepared to pay the price to get greasy goals.

"When we're winning games, guys are going to the net and taking away the goalie's eyes," defenseman Keith Yandle said. "Goalies are so good nowadays, you have to take away their eyes to score goals. Obviously, it's a tough thing to go to the net. You're getting hacked and cross-checked. Our guys do a great job paying the price and sticking with it."

"It's something we preach all the time here," Miller added. "You've got to have a net presence -- be in the goalie's eyes and get good looks through screens."

Even on points in the Metropolitan Division standings, the Rangers have played one game fewer than the Islanders. Behind the surging Washington Capitals, only six points separates places 2 through 6 in the Metro.

Should the Rangers and Isles maintain their pace, they will collide in a first-round playoff matchup. While the Rangers appear to be on the upturn, the wildly inconsistent Isles have questions to answer.

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Although the Isles roll four strong lines, the absence of key defensemen Travis Hamonic and Johnny Boychuk likely is going to hamper them for a while. The Isles missed their opportunity to take advantage of the Rangers' 4-7-2 December slide. It will be difficult for them to keep pace with the Rangers in the short-term without two of their defensive studs.

Meanwhile, goaltender Jaroslav Halak has struggled in each of his two starts since returning from an upper-body injury -- though Isles fans can point to the Slovakian netminder beating Henrik Lundqvist in seven consecutive games. Lundqvist is 4-1-1 with a 1.47 goals-against average, a .954 save percentage and one shutout in his last six road appearances against the Isles.

Thursday night's meeting will be full of intrigue given the importance of every point at this juncture of the season and what a victory would mean for both teams psychologically.

Follow Sean on Twitter at @HartnettHockey