Sports Betting
The New York Rangers host the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden, and the upcoming NHL trade deadline is on everyone’s mind.
The Rangers are on the second half of a back-to-back after blanking the Nashville Predators 4-0 Sunday night at home. The Islanders also cruised past the struggling Predators 7-4 over the weekend, and even goalie Ilya Sorokin scored a goal.
Both teams are currently below the playoff cut line in a tight Eastern Conference. The Rangers (64) sit two points back of the Detroit Red Wings (66), who own the second wild-card spot, while the Islanders are five points back (61) with a game in hand.
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On Saturday, the Rangers traded Ryan Lindgren and Jimmy Vesey to the Colorado Avalanche for Juuso Parssinen, Calvin de Haan and a couple of picks. Here’s more from Arthur Staple on why the trade makes sense and what comes next.
Speaking of what comes next, the Rangers notably held forward Reilly Smith out of Sunday’s game for roster management purposes, as Peter Baugh reported. Smith is a pending unrestricted free agent and a prime candidate to be moved ahead of Friday’s 3 p.m. ET deadline.
Meanwhile, the Islanders are well-represented at the top of The Athletic’s latest trade board. Veteran forward Brock Nelson leads the list as an attractive “rental” player for any contending team who can score goals and play in all situations, and fellow NHL veteran and scoring threat Kyle Palmieri could also help a team looking to make a Stanley Cup push this spring.
Islanders general manager Lou Lamoriello has a knack for holding on to his club’s older players, and it remains to be seen if the Isles hang on in the playoff race. Staple had some fun breaking down some realistic and not-so-realistic subscriber-submitted trade proposals.
The Rangers are without defenseman Adam Fox and forward Chris Kreider, who were both recently placed on the IR with upper-body injuries.
(Photo of Brett Berard: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images)
Sarah Jean Maher is a Staff Editor for The Athletic NHL. Previously she was the Manager of Communications at the Ontario Hockey League and held roles with the NHL, Sportsnet.ca and several other outlets. Sarah is a graduate of Carleton University’s journalism program.
