Islanders keep putting pucks on the net

It's been more than a month since the Islanders gave up more than 30 shots in a game. That was also the last time the Isles were outshot in a game entering Tuesday night's battle with the Rangers at the Garden.

Since they were outshot by the Blues 33-28 on Dec. 11 in St. Louis, the Isles have gone 9-3-1 while outshooting their opponents 451-295. Jack Capuano preaches that offense comes from defense; in this case, though, one of his defensemen feels the opposite may be true.

"When we have the puck so much and we're grinding teams down, it makes it that much simpler in our own end," Thomas Hickey said before the game. "When we start off a game like we did in Columbus [on Saturday night], where we've got all four lines cycling and possessing the puck in the other team's zone for 30-40 seconds at a time, you can't breathe. It's hard to get yourself back on track."

The Isles came into the game second in the NHL with 32.6 shots on goal per game and a 5.7 shots-per-game differential, also second in the league behind the Hawks' 5.8.

"It's really nothing we're doing differently in our end," Hickey said. "It's more that we're playing in the other team's end."

Grabovski, Lubo out

The Islanders went with the same lineup they had in Saturday night's win over the Blue Jackets, primarily by necessity. Mikhail Grabovski (lower body) remained out on a day-to-day basis, having been injured in Friday night's 3-2 overtime win over the Devils in Newark.

Lubomir Visnovsky (upper body) remained on injured reserve, his third such stint this season. He's been out since the 5-2 loss to the Oilers on Jan. 4, Tuesday night being his fourth straight game missed.