The New York Islanders face the New York Rangers in a matchup between two teams off to strong starts to the season. The Islanders have an 8-5 record while the Rangers are 6-4-3 and have the third-best record in the Metropolitan Division. Both teams are looking to improve in the Metropolitan Division and the Eastern Conference and the upcoming game should be a great one as a result.
The Islanders are having a great season fueled by their offense stepping up and scoring 3.42 goals per game. Brock Nelson and Anders Lee have scored 12 goals and 15 assists to lead the top line but the rest of the offense has also been great. Mathew Barzal, Oliver Wahlstrom, and Anthony Beauvillier have combined for seven goals and 21 assists while defenseman Noah Dobson has added four goals and five assists from the point to open up the offense.
The offense has carried the Islanders but the defense has also stepped up, allowing only 2.50 goals per game. Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech have led the top pairing with 2.1 defensive point shares and 38 blocked shots while Noah Dobson and Alexanders Romanov have combined for 1.3 defensive point shares to give the Islanders two great defensive pairings. In addition, goaltender Semyon Varlamov is having a strong season in the net with a .909 save per centage and a 2.90 goals-against average on 121 shots