• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers

Isles seek fourth straight victory as they visit Rangers

Dec 27, 2010 - 4:18 PM (Sports Network) - The New York Islanders will aim for their first four-game winning streak in nearly a year when they visit the rival New York Rangers for tonight's Atlantic Division clash at Madison Square Garden.

The Islanders have matched their season-high with three straight wins and tonight they can win four in a row for the first time since Jan. 9-18 of last season.

The Isles have recorded wins over Tampa Bay, New Jersey and Montreal during this hot streak and are now four points clear of the Devils for the worst record in the NHL.

After posting a 5-1 win Thursday in New Jersey, the Isles emerged from the Christmas break and notched Sunday's 4-1 decision against the visiting Canadiens. Dwayne Roloson stopped 38-of-39 shots as the suddenly-hot Islanders shut down Montreal at Nassau Coliseum.

Blake Comeau, Michael Grabner, P.A. Parenteau and James Wisniewski tallied for the Islanders, who have also collected one point in five consecutive contests (4-0-1).

The Islanders ended a 12-game road losing streak with last week's win over the Devils, but they still have a dreadful 3-11-3 record away from Long Island this season.

The well-rested Rangers, meanwhile, are trying to avoid losing three in a row for the first time since the opening week of the season.

Tonight's game marks just the third contest in 10 days for New York. The Blueshirts lost in Philadelphia on Dec. 18 and then dropped a home shootout decision this past Thursday against Tampa Bay.

New York's last three-game slide came during an 0-2-1 stretch from Oct. 11-18.

The Rangers were dealt a 4-3 setback by the Lightning after Ryan Malone scored in the 11th round of the shootout to lead Tampa to victory at Madison Square Garden.

Ruslan Fedotenko, Alex Frolov and Derek Stepan lit the lamp for the Rangers, who had won three in a row before suffering consecutive losses. Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 21-of-24 shots.

"We have to be happy with how we grinded and how we played," Stepan said. "Other than a couple of breakdowns that ended up in the back of the net we played exactly the way we wanted to."

New York was without forward Marian Gaborik (groin) and defenseman Michael Del Zotto (illness) on Thursday and both players are questionable for tonight. Gaborik is tied for fourth on the team with 19 points despite playing in just 22 games this season.

The Blueshirts are 8-8-2 at the Garden this year and have split their last six games at MSG.

The Rangers have taken two of three from the Isles this year and notched a 2-0 victory on home ice when the clubs last met on Dec. 3. The Blueshirts have taken four of five and five of seven overall in this series and the Isles have dropped four out of six in Manhattan.