A battle against your cross-town rival is one way to snap out of a funk. Both the Islanders and Rangers need a victory Thursday night as the teams prepare to play against each other at Madison Square Garden in the front end of a home-and-home.

The Rangers must find a way to prevent the ship from completely collapsing after an ugly four-game losing streak in which they were outscored 22-5 and Henrik Lundqvist was chased from the net twice.

The Islanders fell to the Hurricanes on Tuesday, snapping an impressive six-game winning streak highlighted by a dominant 4-0 win over the Maple Leafs in Toronto.

The Islanders have held a significant edge over the Rangers, posting a 12-2-0 record dating back to Dec. 2, 2015.

"It's going to be an intense game," Islanders captain Anders Lee told Newsday after practice Wednesday. "No matter where each team is in the standings or whatever part of the year it is, it's always an exciting game. The fans are into it. There's that rivalry factor. You have no choice but to be dialed in."

Each team finds itself in a different position at the halfway mark of the 2018-19 season but the beauty of a rivalry is that all of the outside noise is forgotten and the intensity ramps up from both sides.

The Islanders have surprised most of the NHL with a strong first half and are only one point out of a playoff spot with several games in hand on the teams in front of them.

As for the Rangers, a team-boosting win could help change the culture surrounding the club, after losing by a five-goal deficit in three of the previous four games. Until last season, Rangers fans, management and players have expected acquisitions to help energize a long playoff run deep into the spring this time of year.

However, a change in philosophy and in personnel has them waiting for a trade market to develop, to ship out fan favorite Mats Zuccarello and potentially center Kevin Hayes. Others such as Chris Kreider and Kevin Shattenkirk could also be targeted by organizations looking for players with terms remaining on their contracts.

Hayes signed a one-year contract this offseason, knowing he could be on the move this time of year. General manager Jeff Gorton cannot allow Hayes to walk away without any compensation this summer.

"The Rangers window isn't now," a Western Conference scout based in the Northeast said. "There are too many good teams in the conference to get one playoff round at best. It is important to manage the assets, collect additional resources and continue to build from within."

The Islanders find themselves in a precarious situation. Lou Lamiorello and his staff need to decide if this team is currently good enough to make a playoff push.

There are multiple layers that go into the Islanders' decision making. How do they define a successful season? Is first round postseason experience acceptable? Should they be able to compete for a championship?

Several key players including Lee, Jordan Eberle, Brock Nelson and Valtteri Filppula are only months from free agency. Would the Islanders risk letting these assets leave the organization without any compensation while vying for a playoff spot?

The Islanders have 20 games remaining before the trade deadline on Feb. 25 to decide if they are pretenders or contenders.

While management balances the short-term vs. long-term needs of each organization, the players' job is to worry about the present.

"It's Game 42 for us, but it's as close to a playoff-type atmosphere you're going to get at this point in the season," Islanders forward Matt Martin told the New York Post. "We want to put them behind us, keep climbing the standings. Not that we want to worry about the teams behind us, but we don't want to give them any life."

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