EAST RUTHERFORD – The second and final game of the 2024 NHL Stadium Series will take place Sunday as the New York rivalry between the Rangers and Islanders takes center stage at MetLife Stadium.
The Blueshirts enter the game on a six-game winning streak, trailing the Carolina Hurricanes by four points for first place in the Metro Division. The Isles are in an even more desperate position, five points out of the wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They have adopted a 3-3-2 since Patrick Roy took over as head coach last month and need to get back to that quickly to close the gap.
This will be the first head-to-head matchup in over a year, dating back to December 22, 2022, and the start of four matches over the next 55 days.
“This is a long-standing rivalry and I think these two teams are playing hard against each other,” head coach Peter Laviolette said. “We expect it to be the same today.”
Stadium series:One question for the Rangers, Devils, Islanders, and Flyers.
The Rangers are 4-0 overall in outdoor games and have a chance to become the first team in league history to win five games. Meanwhile, this will be the Isles' second outdoor appearance in franchise history. His first appearance was on January 29, 2014, in a 2-1 loss to the Blueshirts at Yankee Stadium.
We'll be chronicling the latest chapter of this rivalry here with live updates, so be sure to check back with this page throughout the game.
live updates
Updated, 6:38 p.m. − Panarin finished 10 seconds into overtime. oh. Rangers won 6-5.
Updated, 6:35 p.m. − Mika Zibanejad just sent this crowd of 79,690 into a frenzy. With 1:29 left, he hit a one-timer from a tough angle off a feed from Adam Fox for a power-play goal to tie the score at 5-5.
PPG was the result of Scott Mayfield's third penalty of the game, with Laviolette pulling the goalie again to give the Rangers a 6-on-4 advantage.
Updated, 6:27 p.m. – Kreider tipped Panarin's shot for a power-play goal with 4:08 left, cutting the Rangers' lead to 5-4. Laviolette pulled Shesterkin to give the Rangers an extra skater, and the move paid off.
Updated, 6 p.m. – The third period got off to a dejected start for the Rangers.
Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov accidentally hit Ryan Lindgren in the face with his cane while following a pass (this is not a penalty), and the Blueshirts were shorthanded and Lindgren was crumpled on the ice. Ta. Romanoff cut to the net and cleaned up a tipped pass from Noah Dobson to extend the Isles' lead to 5-3 with 18:07 left.
Lindgren, who appeared to have a cut on his face, headed to the locker room but has not yet returned.
Updated, 5:27 p.m. – Trocheck struck again, cutting the Isles' lead to 4-3 with 1:36 left in the second.
The Rangers spent a good portion of that period on defense, but dug a breakthrough and put together a strong offensive zone shift at the end. The line of Panarin, Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere was in the middle, and as Trocheck and Lafreniere fought for position in front of the net, No. 16 ultimately scored his 18th goal of the season by scoring the rebound from a difficult angle. I raised my eyes.
The Blueshirts were better during that period, but they still gave up a lot of chances and zone time. The Isles have already taken 35 shots, 18 in the first period and 17 more in the second.
Updated, 5:03 p.m. – The Rangers cut the deficit to 4-2 on Vincent Trocheck's power-play goal, which appeared to inadvertently tip Artemi Panarin's wrist shot. The redirect gave the Blueshirts their second PPG in the past nine games (2 of 23 in that span) and allowed them to pull themselves back into offensive range with well over half of the game remaining.
Updated, 4:55 p.m. − That's all about the reunion. Chris Kreider was called for a hook 34 seconds into the second period and the Isles scored. Andres Lee chipped Pierre Engvall's shot for a power-play goal, making it 4-1.
Updated, 4:35 p.m. − The Islanders were firmly in control with a 3-1 lead heading into the first intermission.
Without Gustafsson's goals, that period would have been completely disastrous for Rangers. They lost 18-7, but lost the battle for dangerous scoring chances by a 7-1 margin, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The Isles were huddled together and looked every bit like one of the more desperate teams. Meanwhile, the Blueshirts reverted to some of the defensive issues that caused them difficulties during a rough two-month patch in December and January. They were vulnerable right off the rush, their defense in front of the net was shaky, and they were shaky inside the basket. They also lost 75% of their faceoffs (6 of 24), tilting the possession arrow heavily in the Isles' favor.
The only good news is that they have two periods left to rebuild their team and gradually close the two-goal deficit. But they have a lot to take care of.
Updated, 4:05 p.m. – If you're feeling light-headed, you're not alone.
The Isles just scored three goals in a span of 3 minutes and 14 seconds, with Brock Nelson, Bo Horvat and Matt Barzal doing the damage.
The Rangers were too lax on defense, allowing Igor Shesterkin to take nine shots in the first 7:34 of the game. This goalkeeper also could not be called particularly sharp, especially in the goal of Horvat, who beat him under his right arm.
As a result, the Islanders led 3-1.
Updated, 3:55 p.m. – Lempe started his first NHL shift off strong. As soon as he dropped the puck for a faceoff, the 21-year-old rookie hung up his gloves with Isles veteran Matt Martin.
Lempe was in his element, waving his arms and rousing the crowd on his way to the penalty box. When I asked him the other day about the possibility of a debut match, he replied, “If that happens, I'm ready.''
Updated at 3:50 p.m. Erik Gustafsson got the Rangers off to a fast start with a long slap shot from well above the right circle, giving them a 1-0 lead just 1:28 into the game. His fifth goal of the season was scored on an off-the-wall pass from Kaapo Kakko, who is currently on a four-game winning streak.
Updated, 1:30 p.m. – Rumor has it that the start time for this afternoon's game was postponed to 3:47pm due to glare on the ice (I guess they weren't expecting the sun, were they?).
It's a bright, beautiful day in East Rutherford, but chilly. The temperature is 39 degrees, but wind gusts can reach 31 miles per hour. If you are in a stand, be sure to bundle up.
Updated at 1pm – Coach Laviolette confirmed before the game that 6-foot-8 prospect Matt Lempe will become the first player in league history to make his NHL debut in an outdoor game. Making this day even more special will be the opportunity to honor my late father Ron, who tragically passed away from a heart attack six years ago today.
“It's going to be a really emotional day in front of my family,” Rempe told lohud.com, part of the USA TODAY Network. “He was my best buddy.”
Lempe will skate in the fourth row with Barclay Goodrow and fellow 6-foot-7 rookie Adam Edstrom.
“They came here for a reason,” Goodrow said before the game. “I'm looking forward to playing with them because they bring an element to the game. I never thought I'd be on the line to be five inches shorter, but it's going to be a lot of fun. “It was fun playing with Eddie and the Lemps are playing their first game tonight and I know he'll be flying around.''
Updated at 12:30 p.m. Both teams were escorted by the New York City Fire Department and Police Department, with the Rangers arriving at MetLife wearing FDNY and NYPD hockey jerseys. This appears to have been an arrangement that began with a conversation between the captains of both teams, Jacob Trouba and Anders Lee. A great way to honor some of our region's bravest people.
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter. @vzmercogliano.
