NHL: New York Islanders at New York Rangers
NEW YORK (77 WABC) – It seems the third time was the charm.
After falling to the New York Rangers twice in one week, the Islanders carved out a 4-0 win on Tuesday at Madison Square Garden over their city rivals. The win sends the Islanders into a 10-day break on a high note, after dropping five of their last seven games.
The victory was crucial for the Islanders, who have seen their position in the standings become more contentious as the month had gone on. The Islanders sit four points back of the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins and put a three-point cushion between themselves and the Columbus Blue Jackets.
“It was huge,” Anders Lee said about the win. “Now we can rest up and get ready for the second half. Its going to be exciting. Its a grind and were looking forward to it for sure.”
“Thomas was great tonight, really big. When they did have those pushes, he made some huge saves. Some extended zone time, he was right on top of them. He made the game for us tonight.” – Anders Lee on Thomas Greiss pic.twitter.com/5VkyzV0Kfl
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 22, 2020
Lee, Josh Bailey, Brock Nelson and Anthony Beauvillier each scored for the Islanders, and Thomas Greiss made 41 saves in the win.
The Islanders’ shots on net were limited on Tuesday, but they made the shots count when they had them. They had two goals on eight shots in the first period and another two goals on 10 shots in the final 40 minutes.
It was a significant change for the Islanders, who havent been able to get the bounces theyd have hoped for in recent games.
“Thats part of hockey sometimes. At times it might go for you, sometimes they go against you,” Bailey said. “You kind of take it as it comes and you always welcome it when theyre good ones for you.”
Part of the break the Islanders caught on Tuesday came before the game when it became clear Artemi Panarin would miss the game. Panarin, who had six points (2 G, 4A) against the Islanders in two previous games this season, had missed several practices with a lower-body injury.
Without Panarin, the Rangers only managed to muster two late third period goals.
“Obviously that’s a huge part of our team on offense,” Mika Zibanejad said about the absence. “Never good to miss key players like that. We worked hard but it wasn’t enough today.”
“We have a lot of hockey left to play, and the way we’re trending – I think we get this break here, come back, regroup and just go at it when we come back.”
Mika + Georgie on tonight’s game: pic.twitter.com/j2jOi5pSKD
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 22, 2020
Baileys power-play goal 13:35 into the first period kicked off the scoring. The Islanders won an offensive zone draw and Bailey deflected a shot from the point by Noah Dobson.
Beauvillier gave the Islanders a two-goal lead three minutes later on the power play with a shot from the high slot.
The Islanders extended the lead to three when Lee scored off a one-timer at 9:52 of the second. Matt Barzal was able to come away with the puck after a battle behind the net to set up Lee for the goal.
Nelson scored his team-leading 20th goal of the season 3:13 into the third to make it 4-0, but the Rangers clawed back late in the game to make things interesting. Pavel Buchnevich ended the shutout at 13:45 after Scott Mayfield was called for spearing and given a four-minute penalty.
Chris Kreider scored with 14 seconds left on the power play to cut the lead to 4-2.
“Im ecstatic with the two points,” Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. “Were exhausted and we had to battle through it. … If we lost that game in any way shape or form I think it would have been a big punch to the stomach. We didnt and were going to have a good break now and a well-deserved rest.”
Similar to the Islanders, the Rangers head into an extended break. They dropped back to back games with the loss on Tuesday and are 4-6-0 in their last 10 contests.
The Rangers are 10 points back of the final Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference.
“It would have been a lot nicer to leave with a win. These nine days will do us good,” Zibanejad said.
