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Islanders look to continue Rangers' slide

Feb 18, 2009 - 11:32 AM NY Islanders (17-33-6) at NY Rangers (30-22-6) 7:00 p.m. EST

NEW YORK (Ticker) -- The New York Rangers hope a visit from their cross-town rivals can help stop a slide that has them plummeting in the Eastern Conference standings.

Losers of eight of their last nine (1-6-2), the Rangers look to get back in the win column when they host the last-place New York Islanders on Wednesday.

The Rangers' 10-2-1 start to the season seems like a distant memory thanks to a scoring blackout. In each of their last eight losses, they have scored two goals or less and now rank last in the NHL with 2.33 goals per game.

Now in a four-way tie for fifth place in the East at 66 points with Montreal, Florida and Buffalo, the Rangers will have to work to keep what once appeared to be a sure playoff berth as the NHL stretch run heats up.

Lauri Korpikoski scored the only goal and All-Star Henrik Lundqvist made 31 saves in a 2-1 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Monday.

The Islanders have dropped three of four contests against the Rangers this season and remain seven points behind Atlanta for worst record in the league.

Joey MacDonald made 35 saves and stopped both All-Star Evgeni Malkin and captain Sidney Crosby in the shootout to lift the Islanders to a 3-2 win Monday, snapping a five-game losing streak.