This bad blood won’t smolder for long.
Unlike the Rangers-Devils rivalry that erupted in a brawl on April 3 and took more than three weeks to resolve, the Rangers and Islanders hardly even have to wait.
Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette was furious after giving up two hits in the Rangers’ 4-2 loss to the Islanders on Tuesday night at UBS Arena.
The first was a collision between forward Mika Zibanejad and Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech, which left Zibanejad sprawled on the ice and missed the remainder of the game, before returning to the bench.
Laviolette was adamant that Pelech intentionally stuck out his elbow to catch Zibanejad, but Islanders head coach Patrick Roy insisted it was an accidental act.
The second goal came from Islanders defenseman Noah Dobson, who hit Vincent Trocheck from behind in the closing seconds of the game.
It appeared to be an obvious boarding, but it was a no-call, and after the game Trocheck lashed out at the referee.
Laviolette called both hits “vicious”.
The two teams will meet again on Saturday, but it will be less than a week before they clash again.
In the last game against the Devils, things were going so badly that it was expected that there would be a fight, but Coach Laviolette inserted Matt Lempe into the starting lineup for the first time in three games.
Maybe he’ll do it again on Saturday.
Jack Roslovic’s extra motivation didn’t make much of a difference.
The forward was a healthy scratch in the Rangers’ 5-2 win over the Canadiens on Sunday, but then appeared on Monday to ensure he regained his first-line spot behind Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. He said it gave him even more motivation.
Roslovic returned to the location Tuesday and was very quiet. He did not score a goal and conceded a goal.
Jimmy Vesey is closely tracking every opponent the Rangers might face in the first round of the playoffs.
“I follow the league and people honestly call me a loser because of how close I am to the league,” Veasey said Tuesday night. “I like seeing different scenarios and how it plays out.”
