In a rather pivotal division matchup, the New York Islanders made the (not) long trek to Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers. With a game in hand and only three points below the Rangers, the Islanders had something to prove. The Rangers’ lineup had been shaken up a few days prior, notably with former Islander Calvin de Haan now defending for the Blueshirts.
The Islanders controlled the beginning of the first, winning the opening draw and getting pucks toward the net. The Rangers had difficulty entering and maintaining the zone during the first five minutes of the frame. A truly terrible defensive misstep allowed Simon Holmstrom to shoot from point blank range with the rebound cleanly shot, but Igor Shesterkin was able to make the save. The Rangers gave a lot of space in the defensive zone, but the Islanders lacked quality in the their chances.
Artemi Panarin drew a hooking penalty from Adam Pelech, giving the Rangers the first advantage of the night. The Rangers were 20.6% successful on the power play prior to the game. A breakaway chance by Holmstrom and Brock Nelson ended in a stellar save from Shesterkin, keeping the game tied at zero. A great tip in front by Panarin saved the Rangers from another breakaway chance by the Islanders. However, the Rangers took a too many men penalty right after the kill, which would be served by Brett Berard. The Islanders’ power play, not known for its strength, sitting at 32nd in the league, was killed with relative ease by the Blueshirts. Immediately following, an extremely tough angle shot from Anders Lee found the tiniest of cracks left by Igor, but the play was ruled offsides, and the game remained tied.
No thanks to the Islanders’ defense, the Rangers appeared to be fighting themselves to keep the puck in the offensive zone. A shot from Zac Jones was deflected off of Will Cuylle’s head and into the net, giving the Rangers the first true goal of the game (talk about using your head). The Islanders immediately got back on the offensive but couldn’t beat Shesterkin. Taking yet another too many men penalty, the Rangers would once again face the Islanders’ power play unit. A short handed chance by Sam Carrick, mixed with a great pass over to Will Borgen, who absolutely sniped it, gave the Rangers a two goal lead.
The Rangers started the second with a strong offensive presence but suffered from disjointed pass attempts. A stretch pass up from Igor to Matt Rempe missed the mark when a pass to Berard went just wide. Shortly after, Bo Horvat took a delay of game penalty and the Rangers looked to convert on the man advantage. While keeping in tight, the Rangers created a chance or two, but nothing was getting past Ilya Sorokin. A very disjointed defensive presence by the Rangers successfully thwarted a few good looks from the Islanders. The Islanders’ net front presence seemed stronger than in previous games this season, a positive adjustment following the international break. K’Andre Miller was sent off for holding Nelson, giving the Islanders another shot on the advantage. An uneventful Islanders’ power play brought life back to the Garden and the second period ended with the Rangers retaining their two-goal lead.
The third period saw Kyle Palmieri overskate a great chance and completely whack the side of the net. J.T. Miller put the Rangers up three goals with a delayed release that cleanly beat Sorokin. The Islanders were handed turnover after turnover, and breakaway after breakaway, but failed to get their sticks in the right place to score. With a three goal deficit and less than half the period remaining, the Islanders looked slow and defeated. A good chance from Maxim Tsyplakov was swallowed by Shesterkin. With 7:45 remaining the game, Patrick Roy pulled his goaltender. A scrum following Shesterkin’s save certainly riled up the Garden. After multiple chances, Panarin slides one in for the empty netter with 5:16 remaining. The Islanders’ hopes for the game died on a whisper and Isles Nation must be wondering if the season will end the same way.
Despite letting in three, Sorokin looked strong on every other Rangers’ attempt. But for his effort, the Islanders would have likely ended a greater negative. Both teams can learn quite a bit from the matchup, but the Islanders clearly have work to do if they truly want to make a push for the playoffs.
