Post-holiday motivation? Islanders should have plenty vs. Rangers
Islanders teammates celebrate a goal by defenseman Adam Pelech against the New Jersey Devils in the third period of a game at UBS Arena on Dec. 23, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
The Islanders couldn’t have picked a better opponent than the hated Rangers as they come out of the NHL’s three-day holiday break.
Want to stamp their legitimacy as a serious contender in the Metropolitan Division? Put forth a second straight superlative effort against the inconsistent Rangers and further dent their playoff chances on Saturday.
Want to avoid any post-holiday lethargy and focus issues after not playing since Tuesday? Have the Islanders’ biggest rival come into a presumably sold-out UBS Arena, with the crowd likely to be evenly split between fans of both teams.
Want to erase any lingering memories of last season’s utter domination of the season series by the Rangers? Put forth a strong 60-minute effort with, presumably, leading scorer Bo Horvat and No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin available again.
Everything is right there for the Islanders to have a super Saturday.
Carpe diem.
“These divisional games are huge,” defenseman Adam Pelech said shortly after scoring the winning goal at 18:45 of the third period in Tuesday’s 2-1 comeback win over the visiting Devils. “Heading into the break, it gives everyone a chance to rest up, enjoy the break and come back on the 27th with confidence and some joy after a big win.”
Of course, none of this is one-sided. The Rangers surely will be just as motivated after taking a 5-0 beating in the first of the teams' four meetings this season on Nov. 8 at Madison Square Garden. That win kick-started a 6-1-0 road trip for the Islanders that served as notice that this season is not likely to be the same as last season’s 35-35-12 uninspired slog that left them nine points shy of a playoff berth in Patrick Roy’s first full season as coach.
Included in last season’s failure was the Rangers’ four-game sweep of the season series by an aggregate score of 23-5. The final humiliation for the Islanders in that context was a 9-2 loss to the Rangers in the fourth meeting on April 10 before a sold-out crowd at UBS Arena. By the final buzzer, all that remained in the building were joyful Rangers fans.
To a much lesser degree, last season’s lopsided bent to the rivalry evoked some unpleasant memories for the Islanders of the four-game sweep in the first round in 1994 that the Rangers used as a springboard to their most recent Stanley Cup win.
As an aside, that was the last time these longtime foes met in the postseason, and that lengthy stretch has eroded the rivalry’s bitterness to some extent.
The Islanders went 1-2-1 against the Rangers in 2023-24, with Roy’s first experience in the rivalry being a 6-5 outdoor loss at MetLife Stadium on Feb. 19, 2024. The Rangers rallied from a three-goal deficit after the first period and a two-goal deficit in the third period for the overtime victory.
Again, all of this should be swirling around the Islanders’ memory banks as they step onto the ice on Saturday to instantly focus their attention after three days of family gatherings, gifts and food.
The Islanders’ players have been open about the benefits of playing in front of large, loud crowds at UBS Arena, where the last three dates and seven of the last 12 have brought sellouts of 17,255.
So when the crowds come, it behooves the Islanders to be at their best.
“There’s a lot to see, a lot of excitement from our team,” Anders Lee said. “We’ve got a lot of young talent, some new blood and we’re playing good hockey. You put that combination together, people are wanting to come to the games, it seems. It’s making a big difference for us.”
The Islanders exit the holiday hiatus with a 20-13-4 mark, good for third place in the division, three points shy of the first-place Hurricanes. They stand fifth overall in the Eastern Conference, three points shy of the Hurricanes and Red Wings.
Saturday starts another hectic grind of three games in four days and five in an eight-day span, with the NHL schedule condensed to accommodate February’s Olympic break.
Starting off against the Rangers presents all the motivation the Islanders need for a quick start to the stretch.
Carpe diem.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
