Two nights after the Rangers let a potential momentum-changing win against the defending Stanley Cup champs slip through their fingers, they’re hoping a meeting with their old rival can provide the necessary spark they’ve desperately been seeking.
It didn’t come Tuesday against the Penguins, and they missed another shot Saturday against the red-hot Devils, but the next chance comes Thursday when the Rangers play host to the Islanders at the Garden.
“We played well against one of our other rivals, against New Jersey. I’m expecting the same type of energy and execution and jump [Thursday],” coach Alain Vigneault said. “I expect us to be on the right side this time.”
Both the Rangers (1-5-1) and Islanders (2-3-1) are stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference’s Metropolitan Division. Though that might take some luster away from the early-season meeting, it also puts a win at even more of a premium.
“I’m looking forward to this game. It’s something I watched as a kid growing up and remember how intense it was,” defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk said. “They’re our crosstown rivals, so it’s going to be a big one, obviously, rivalry-wise, but another good chance for us to get up and forget about what happened [Tuesday] night. Playing in an environment that’s going to be very intense, very physical — that should wake us up.”
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Vigneault said his club is making “huge steps in the right direction, in all facets of our game,” but in the same breath, said he knows this is a winning-oriented business.
Captain Ryan McDonagh did not practice Wednesday, absent for what Vigneault called a “maintenance day.” The defenseman is expected to skate Thursday morning, after which his status for the Islanders game will be clearer.
“At this time, I would say he should be good for [Thursday],” Vigneault said.
David Desharnais has been rising up the Rangers’ depth chart with the results to show for it.
The veteran center, who signed with the Blueshirts this summer as a free agent, has a goal and two assists in the past two games after starting the season without a point. His shifts have increased now that he’s joined the second line with Chris Kreider and J.T. Miller.
“Playing on the fourth line, under 10 minutes, is kind of hard, so I think I just made my way up there in the lineup and I’m just trying to do what I used to do,” Desharnais said.