Players can’t be too focused on the big picture of a season, and forget them seeing a picture that includes about a decade of the same storyline.
But it seems that, at least through the first half of this season, the roles between the big-brother Rangers and the little-brother Islanders have been somewhat reversed.
Again, it’s only been half a season, but going into this home-and-home that starts Thursday night at the Garden and then goes to what could be the final game between these two at Barclays Center on Saturday, the Islanders are the ones in playoff contention while the Rangers are just trying to keep their season relevant through the winter.