Islanders-Rangers Preview - USA TODAY

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Islanders-Rangers Preview - USA TODAY Mar 11th 2012, 23:51 Islanders-Rangers Preview (Sports Network) - The Eastern Conference-leading Rangers will try to avoid their first four-game losing streak of the season when they host the Islanders tonight at Madison Square Garden in a battle between the New York teams. The Rangers have lost three in a row in regulation, marking the club's first three-game slide since it opened the season with an 0-1-2 record. New York hasn't lost four in a row since an 0-5-1 stretch from Jan. 25-Feb. 11. The last four losses of that slide came in regulation. The swoon has helped the red-hot Pittsburgh Penguins close the gap in the race for the Atlantic Division crown as well as the top seed in the East. The Penguins, who have won eight in a row, are just four points behind the Rangers and are also playing today against Boston. The Rangers hope to get back on track today, when they open a seven-game homestand against the rival Islanders. The Blueshirts are 22-7-2 as the host this year and have won six straight and eight of their last 10 home tests against the Isles. Tonight's test marks the final meeting of the year between the Isles and Rangers, who have won seven of 10 overall in this series. After losing consecutive 4-1 decisions, the Rangers were handed a 4-3 setback Friday night in Chicago. Patrick Sharp and Johnny Oduya scored 62 seconds apart in the third period for the Blackhawks and Patrick Kane's empty-net tally proved to be the game winner. Brandon Prust, Brad Richards and Artem Anisimov all scored for the Rangers. Richards' goal, his 19th of the season, came just 12 seconds after Kane's empty-netter, but New York couldn't get the equalizer. Henrik Lundqvist was touched for three goals on 21 shots for New York. "We're in a stretch right now where we are trying really hard, but it's just not going our way, and we need some bounces to go our way," said Lundqvist. "Unfortunately they went against us there in the third period. It was a tough one." Rangers defenseman Michael Del Zotto and forward Brandon Dubinsky are questionable for tonight. Dubinsky has missed the last two games with sinus problems, while Del Zotto sat out Friday's game for undisclosed reasons. The Islanders played their third straight game against the Devils on Saturday and lost a tough 2-1 decision in regulation. David Clarkson and Marek Zidlicky scored 14 seconds apart late in the third period to lead New Jersey to the comeback win on Long Island. Facing a 1-0 deficit, Clarkson put the Devils on the board with 1:39 to play when his turnaround shot from the low right circle snuck between the left arm of Anders Nilsson. Moments later, Zidlicky lined up a slap shot from the right point that blew past a screened Nilsson and the Devils kept the Islanders away the rest of the game. John Tavares scored the lone goal for the Islanders, who finished a string of three straight games against the Devils with one win and two losses. Nilsson made 33 saves. "Obviously we had to find a way to win that game," said Tavares. "We let this one slip away and it's rough." The Islanders, who are 13-16-4 on the road this year, are currently seeded 14th in the East and are nine points out of a playoff spot. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers. Five Filters recommends: Donate to Wikileaks.

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