While the New York Rangers are coming off of an exhilarating overtime win vs. the Chicago Blackhawks in Chicago, the New York Islanders are coming off one of their own, theirs against the Toronto Maple Leafs in Toronto. The Rangers winning 1-0 on a Derick Brassard slapper just 32 seconds into overtime, and the Islanders winning 4-3 on a John Tavares goal with just 22 seconds left in overtime after mounting a 3-1 comeback in the 3rd period.

So you can definitely make the case that the Islanders win was even more exhilarating than the Rangers but in the end a win is a win, and win is what the Rangers need to do in order to keep their divisional hopes alive, as they take on those tenacious Islanders in their last regular season meeting at the Nassau Coliseum tonight at 7 P.M.

One would figure that the Rangers would have the better chance to win tonight since the Islanders just played the Leafs yesterday and the Rangers last game vs. the Blackhawks was on Sunday. But after that thrilling comeback win for the Islanders, plus knowing that they always bring their A game vs. the Rangers, and with the possibility of having Kyle Okposo make his long awaited return to the Islanders’ starting lineup after being out since January 19th with an eye injury, the Islanders playing the night before is not going to play a big factor in tonight’s game.

The Islanders will come out skating and firing from every angle to convey the message to the Rangers that they are now best team in New York. The Rangers A game will have to be better than the Islanders if they want to win this game, and win the Metropolitan Division.

The Rangers may only be 3 points behind the Islanders, before tonight’s game, with 4 games in hand, so some will say losing to the Islanders tonight does not really matter because being 5 points behind with 4 games in hand isn’t much different and is doable. While on paper being 5 points behind with 4 games in hand seems doable, in the Rangers case it may not be.

I say this because there is only 1 month left in the regular season, so the Rangers are going to have to squeeze in 18 games in a 33 day span. This condensed schedule will most likely cause the Rangers to drop a few games due to fatigue, maybe all 4 of the games the Rangers currently have in hand over the Islanders.

This is why I feel if the Rangers want to win the Metropolitan Division, getting 2 points vs. the Islanders tonight is a must. With the regular season coming to a close very shortly, being 1 or 2 points behind a team is very different than being 4 or 5 points behind.