at , 8 p.m. ET, NBCSNIts hard to believe weve gotten this far into the season without a matchup between both of New Yorks hockey teams, but that will change Wednesday night. However, for the first time in the regular season, the Rangers and Islanders will Chris Weinke Jersey be taking the Battle of New York to Brooklyn and theyll do it underneath the national spotlight.Its always fun when these two local rivals meet up, but both teams are playing well to start the season to add a little extra oomph to the game. There were some awesome battles between the two Carlos Watkins Jersey teams last year.This time around, the Rangers have a six-point lead on the Islanders as they sit atop the Metropolitan Division standings with a 17-6-2 record. The Isles are currently in wild card position, fourth in the Metro, with a 13-8-4 mark. The boys in Brooklyn are staring down a big opportunity to gain some ground on those fellows from Manhattan.The Isles have points in each of their last four games, which has allowed them to recover a bit after a moderate lull in late October and early November. , as always, is leading the way this season with 21 points in 25 games including 11 goals. is second on the club with 20 points, but if the Islanders are going to beat their neighbors, theyre going to have to get some secondary scoring. Theyve been getting that in their recent four-game stretch Noah Igbinoghene Jersey . One player in particular that has been helping the cause is who has four points over his last three games. That's a player the Isles needed to get going.It is unclear which goaltender will start for the Islanders, but both and have played extremely well. Grei s in particular has been a real surprise this season with a .925 save percentage in 12 appearances.On the other side of the ice, of course, will be who has been playing at a MVP level so far this season. He has a 13-5-2 record with a .935 save percentage and 2.10 goals-against average. Hes also had a fair amount of Shaquem Griffin Jersey succe s against the Isles over his career with a .921 save percentage in 50 games against the Rangers local rival. The Rangers will head into Wednesdays game down a few men, though. Center Derek Stepan is out of the lineup with broken ribs, while top-four defenseman has been sidelined by a strained oblique. Coach Alain Vigneault will have to use defensemen and in the same lineup, which he has been reluctant to do this year and that does leave the Rangers a little exposed on the back end. Still they should have the depth to manage in this game.That said, with the Islanders rolling a bit right now and the fact that theyll be playing the Rangers for the first time in their new building, were going to give the slight edge to the home team in this one.Pick: Islanders 3, Rangers 2The rest of Wednesdays picks 3, Johnny Manziel Jersey 2 5, 2 3, 1
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