The set-up: The 21-18-4 New York Islanders and the 22-15-5 New York Rangers will both return from their respective NHL-mandated five day breaks for a game at Madison Square Garden. Both teams stumbled into their breaks with the Rangers dropping five of eight contests to fall into fourth place in the Metropolitan Division (49 points), while the Islanders reside in the division 'basement' with 46 points, after losses in five straight before forging a shootout win over New Jersey.

NY Islanders: The team's win over the Devils not only snapped a five-game losing streak but left them just two points behind the Hurricanes and three points behind the Rangers in the wild card races. The Islanders are hoping the five-day break won't cause them to lose any momentum gained from last Sunday's win, a contest in which they trailed by two goals in the third period before storming back to beat the Devils. "You don't want to go into the break with five, six straight losses," said Islanders rookie defenseman Sebastian Aho, who scored his first career goal to begin the comeback before assisting on the game-tying score by Cal Clutterbuck. "You could feel it on the bench, everybody decided we're going to take this game." Then again, the Islanders remain undermanned. Head coach Doug Weight said Friday that center Josh Bailey (lower body), defenseman Johnny Boychuk (lower body) and left winger Andrew Ladd (undisclosed) will not play Saturday. Bailey and Ladd, each of whom were injured against the Penguins on Jan. 5, will miss a second straight game while Boychuk will be sidelined for a seventh consecutive contest.

NY Rangers: The five-day break wasn't enough to restore the Rangers to 100 percent health-wise, either, Head coach Alain Vigneault said Friday that center Kevin Hayes, who suffered a lower-body injury against the Golden Knights on STunday, is not expected to play Saturday. Mika Zibanejad scored for the second time in three games in Sunday's 2-1 loss to Vegas, as the 24-year-old Swede bids to regain his rhythm on the heels of missing three-plus weeks due to a concussion. Goalie Henrik Lundqvist is heading to his fourth All-Star Game as the Rangers' lone representative.

The pick: The Rangers currently have sole possession of the first wild card in the East but are just one point ahead of the Carolina Hurricanes. This game against the Islanders marks the first of three straight games against teams barely on the outside looking in of the wild card race for the Rangers, who will visit the Philadelphia Flyers (46 points) on Sunday before returning home to face the Pittsburgh Penguins (47 points). "I think everybody understands we're facing playoff hockey right now," Rangers head coach Vigneault said following practice Friday afternoon. However, the Islanders' 4-3 triumph on Oct. 19 over the Rangers marked their eighth win in nine outings versus their crosstown rivals. Then again, besting Lundqvist, the former Vezina Trophy winner and Swedish Olympian, has been tough sledding for the Islanders. Lundqvist has yielded two goals or fewer in 34 of 57 career appearances versus the club, posting a 30-19-7 mark with five shutouts. Make the Rangers a 10* play.