Islanders' weak defense and bad goaltending lead to rout by Rangers, leaving both teams on brink of playoff elimination
Tony DeAngelo #4 of the New York Islanders looks on as Artemi Panarin #10 of the New York Rangers celebrates his first period goal with teammates Jonny Brodzinski #22 and Vincent Trocheck #16 at UBS Arena on Thursday, Apr. 10, 2025 in Elmont, New York. Credit: Jim McIsaac
The Islanders’ playoff chances were slim before Thursday night’s turnover-plagued, defensively-deficient 9-2 loss to the Rangers on Thursday night at UBS Arena. Without injured No. 1 goalie Ilya Sorokin, a miracle finish does not seem possible.
The Rangers swept the four-game season series by a cumulative 23-5 despite the Islanders taking a season-high 46 shots on Igor Shesterkin while giving up a season-high in goals. The lopsided result left both teams in the same position: One point either lost by them or gained by the Canadiens, who play Friday night in Ottawa, will seal their playoff elimination.
“There’s not much to say,” Anders Lee said. “We played a [expletive] game. We had shots, we hit posts. But we gave up too many opportunities the other way, whether it was turnovers or puck management.”
Marcus Hogberg was shelled for six goals on 27 shots before being pulled in the third period. Tristan Lennox, 22, brought up from the Islanders’ AHL affiliate in Bridgeport on emergency recall, then lasted just four minutes, 43 seconds before allowing a goal on the first real shot he faced in his NHL debut. Coach Patrick Roy then re-inserted Hogberg.
“After the sixth goal, I wanted to give a break to Marcus, mentally more than anything else,” Roy said. “I put Lennox in. When I saw the first, it’s on me. The kid didn’t have a chance to practice and I thought it was unfair to him to put him out there like this. That’s why I put Marcus back in. I didn’t want to expose him and put him in a tough spot.”
Lennox played for Bridgeport on Wednesday before driving to Long Island and participating in the morning skate with the Islanders (34-33-11).
Rangers fourth-liner Brett Berard was allowed to skate through the slot to make it 6-1 at 7:54 of the third period to apparently end Hogberg’s outing. Berard also ended Lennox’s outing at 12:37.
“I’ll take full responsibility for that,” Roy said. “It might not have been my best decision.”
Sorokin exited Tuesday night’s 7-6 overtime loss in Nashville after 40 minutes, suffering a lower-body injury when 6-6, 232-pound Michael McCarron fell over the goalie while scoring the Predators’ fourth goal at 13:25 of the second period.
Sorokin, who has been relied on heavily since Semyon Varlamov was sidelined for the season with a lower-body injury on Nov. 29, is 29-23-6 with a 2.75 goals-against average and .905 save percentage in 59 appearances, three short of matching his career high. Roy initially termed Sorokin’s injury an upper-body issue after Tuesday’s loss but clarified Thursday that, after Sorokin was examined, it is a lower-body injury and has nothing to do with the offseason back surgery he required.
Between Sorokin, Hogberg — and Lennox — the Islanders have given up 16 goals in two games they desperately needed to win if they realistically had hopes of catching the Canadiens for the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot.
“We talked about pride, we talked about a bunch of things and then the result is the result,” Kyle Palmieri said when asked what was discussed during the first intermission after the Rangers scored four goals on 15 shots.
Palmieri was then directly asked if the Islanders showed enough pride.
“No.”
Roy disputed that.
“We still had 46 shots,” said Roy, his voice rising. “A team that does not work does not have 46 shots. A team that has no pride, they don’t stop working and keep shooting pucks.”
Roy also did not criticize the Islanders’ defensive structure, saying the issue was turnovers and puck management which have been a problem most of the season.
Notes & quotes: The Rangers swept the season series from the Islanders for the first time since 2003-04, when they won all six games that season . . . . Maxim Tsyplakov broke up Shesterkin’s shutout bid with a power-play goal at 19:06 of the second period . . . Hudson Fasching’s third-period goal was his first of the season . . . Defenseman Alexander Romanov sat out for about 10 minutes in the second period. Asked whether that was a coach’s decision or an injury issue, Roy said he “didn’t notice…” Defensemen Mike Reilly, Adam Boqvist and Scott Perunovich remained healthy scratches and Anthony Duclair (leave of absence) missed his fourth game.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
