The Rangers defended their home ice against the rival New York Islanders on Sunday, defeating them by the score of 5-2.
The Rangers were on the penalty kill when Chris Kreider wristed in a pass from Mika Zibanejad at 16:16 of the first period to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead.
Later on that same kill, Islanders goalie, Ilya Sorokin made a double save, first stopping Ryan Lindgren’s shot then stopping the rebound which was shot by Reilly Smith.
Just over a minute into the second period, Smith forced a turnover near the Islanders net and passed to Trocheck in the slot who scored to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead.
The Islanders got on the scoreboard a couple of minutes later, when Casey Cizikas beat a Rangers defenseman to the front of the net and stuffed home a rebound.
At 8:56 of the second period, Artemi Panarin scored a power play goal on a wrist shot from the point to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead.
Near the end of the second period, the Islanders scored to make it 3-2. Kyle Palmieri deked around Jacob Trouba’s poke check before slipping the puck over to Brock Nelson who tucked it home.
The Rangers added two more goals from Adam Edstrom and Artemi Panarin in the third period, which sealed the Rangers second straight victory.
Despite the scoreline, the Rangers didn’t dominate this one as much as one might suppose. They benefitted from the play of their goaltender Igor Shesterkin who made 35 saves on 37 shots against and their penalty kill which denied the Islanders on five power play opportunities.
Artemi Panarin was first star of the game and now has 5 points in his last 5 games. Mika Zibanejad was the second star of the game for his 3-assist performance, which was his third multi-point game of the season. Igor Shesterkin was the third star of the game.
New York’s next game is at home against the Buffalo Sabres on Nov. 7. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.
