New York rivals are set to run it back on consecutive nights, with the New York Islanders and New York Rangers set to play the second leg of a home-and-home at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. The first game of this back-to-back at UBS Arena was won convincingly by the Islanders, who will try to complete a regular-season sweep of the Rangers with a win here. Before the start of this rivalry game from MSG, you will find my Islanders vs Rangers prediction here.
Our Islanders vs Rangers Pick
Confidence: 5/5
Game Snapshot
- Matchup: New York Islanders vs New York Rangers
- Date & Time: Thursday, Jan 29, 2026, 7:00 PM ET
- Venue: Madison Square Garden, New York
- Broadcast: ESPN+
Key Storylines
- Scheduling wrinkle: This is the back half of a back-to-back set between these teams. The Islanders hosted the Rangers on January 28 and blew them out. These teams will then head to MSG for another game on January 29.
- Recent head-to-head: Islanders have taken all three meetings between these teams this season, outscoring the Rangers 12-2 in their season series thus far. That is some impressive work from the Islanders, who have moved into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division going into Thursday’s play.
- Blue-line and trade notes: The Islanders added defenseman Carson Soucy this week to stabilize things at the back end, while the Rangers are managing without Adam Fox and have dropped to the bottom of the Metro.
Recent form
- The Islanders won a second straight game by beating the Rangers on Wednesday night. The Isles have allowed a total of two goals over the last two games and their defense will try to shut down the Rangers for a second straight night here.
- The Rangers have dropped four of their last five games and they have the fewest points in the Eastern Conference so far this season.
Goaltending
We should see some backup goalies on both sides in this game given that this is a back-to-back situation for these New York teams. David Rittich should get between the pipes for the Isles in this game, who hasn’t been much worse than starter Ilya Sorokin this year. The Rangers are set to see a much bigger downgrade in goal, going from Jonathan Quick on Wednesday to Spencer Martin. Martin comes into this game with a 3.90 GAA in limited action and he could struggle again here.
Key skaters
- Islanders: Mathew Barzal sits at 43 points and contributed for the Islanders against the Rangers on Wednesday night. Bo Horvat is up to 21 goals despite missed time due to injury.
- Rangers: Artemi Panarin paces New York with 57 points and remains the main playmaker and finisher on the Rangers’ top unit. But the Rangers have lacked depth behind Panarin and they need to do something about that to have a chance to finally beat the Islanders here.
Betting Trends & H2H
- Season series: Islanders 3-0 with a combined 12-2 goal differential.
- The Rangers are 6-13-4 on home ice so far this season.
- The Islanders are 14-10-3 on the road entering Thursday night.
Islanders vs Rangers Model Projection
Final Thoughts
