Bantering Points: 3/18/24

Here are today’s news and links:

Rangers News:

Highlights: NYR 5, NYI 2 (5:03 video via NHL.com)

Game Recap: The Blueshirts pulled away with a pair of third period goals to hand the Islanders a crucial regulation loss and finish up a gauntlet of five games in seven days with a strong 4-1-0 record to show for it (CBS Sports)

Ethan Sears notes that the early indications of Ryan Lindgren’s lower-body injury suffered against the Islanders are not good (NY Post)

Sears also saw the Rangers’ victory over the Islanders as the latest in a trend of the two teams going opposite directions (NY Post)

Vincent Mercogliano offers his takeaways from the Blueshirts’ victory over the Islanders (LoHud)

Lucas Standel lists three keys for the Rangers as they look to close out the regular season at the top of their game (The Hockey Writers)

Postgame Notes: The Blueshirts secured their third consecutive 45+ win season, marking only the third time in franchise history that has happened (Official Team Site)

Around the NHL:

Jeff Marek poses ideas on teams opting for more risky goaltending pulls, an alternative draft order plan to disincentivize tanking, and more (Sportsnet)

The Dallas Stars revealed a statue honoring longtime captain Mike Modano over the weekend (ESPN)

Jacob Stoller lists five players that have seen their ice time take a dip since their teams added reinforcements at the trade deadline (The Hockey News)