In the first week of their season, the Rangers took an initial step toward reversing their Garden woes from last year, earning a pair of wins against the Lightning and Mammoth to secure just their third 2-0 start at home over the last 15 years. They replaced the boos and empty seats with the venue’s vintage buzz and repeated requests for Igor Shesterkin to keep shooting.
And on Tuesday, they’ll have a chance to right another wrong from their dismal 2025-26 campaign that ended in the Eastern Conference basement. They’ll host the Islanders in their first rivalry match of the season after getting swept in the Battle of New York — and losing two of three in the Battle of the Hudson against the Devils — last year. The Rangers had won five in a row and seven of eight against the Islanders, as well as six of their last 10 against the Devs, prior to that, but their performances last year led to a brutal reality check in the hierarchy of New York City hockey. And they’ll test their three-game winning streak, as well as their tangible improvements from the young season’s first four games, with a chance to alter that trajectory.
“You don’t want to be on the other side of that rivalry,” defenseman Braden Schneider told The Post of their losses to the Islanders. “I think it’s definitely something that’s added and definitely leaves a chip on your shoulder to make sure that this year we get them.”
Last season ended up being a rock bottom for the Rangers against their rivals. They were outscored 14-3 by the Islanders, including a 5-0 loss at the Garden in the first meeting. And then-rookie Matthew Schaefer, who was the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft and a generational talent for the Islanders blue line, added an extra jolt to the rivalry after telling reporters at the NHL draft that he wanted to beat the Rangers “every time we play them.”
