While the Rangers are retooling, the Islanders are building to be a competitive group in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. On Tuesday, the team went out and acquired Ondrej Palat from the New Jersey Devils, adding some veteran scoring.

That’s a reversal of last season, when the Rangers swept the season series against the Islanders, which may have cost them a shot at winning the NHL Draft Lottery. Instead, the Islanders finished with a worse record and then selected defenseman Matthew Schaefer with the No. 1 overall pick after winning the lottery.

NEW YORK — There are still Artemi Panarin jerseys in the Madison Square Garden team store. Fans at Thursday’s game against the New York Islanders still had No. 10 on their backs. Panarin still had a nameplate over a stall in the dressing room. He just wasn’t on the ice.

The "Battle of New York' featuring the Islanders and the Rangers is set for Thursday night as the two NHL rivals face off at Madison Square Garden.

Ondrej Palat scored the opening goal and added an assist in his debut with the New York Islanders, who defeated their cross-town rival New York Rangers 5-2 on Wednesday night.

For the first time in nearly eight years, the Rangers lost every game to the Islanders in a single campaign. The regular-season series sweep is one thing, but the nature of each Rangers defeat signaled a turning point in the long-standing rivalry.

The New York Rangers face the New York Islanders Wednesday at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.

BOTTOM LINE: The New York Islanders take on the New York Rangers in a matchup within the Metropolitan Division Thursday. New York is 22-26-6 overall and 6-7-1 against the Metropolitan Division. The Rangers are 19-5-1 in games they score three or more goals.

You don’t want to get too caught up in motivational angles when handicapping the NHL, but it’s hard not to wonder where the Rangers’ heads are at right now. The Blueshirts looked listless in a 5-2 loss to the Islanders at UBS Arena on Wednesday night,