Islanders hang on for crucial win over Rangers in their drive for the playoffs
Bo Horvat #14 of the Islanders celebrates his first period goal against the New York Rangers with teammate Casey Cizikas #53 at UBS Arena on Tuesday, April 9, 2024. Credit: Jim McIsaac
There was a lot of classic Islanders-Rangers’ rivalry in this one, from the playoff implications to the animosity that might get repaid in Saturday’s rematch to the competition among the split crowd at UBS Arena to see who could chant for their team the loudest.
The Islanders dominated the first period on Tuesday night. The Rangers barely let them touch the puck the next 40 minutes. But the Islanders held on for a 4-2 win, maintaining their hold on third place in the Metropolitan Division while the Rangers, with the Hurricanes winning, could not clinch first.
“It’s great,” said Bo Horvat, who had one of the three Islanders’ goals in the first period as the teams played at UBS Arena for the first time since Oct. 26, 2022. “This is the type of hockey you want to be playing at this time of the year. They’re a great team. They’re a rival and I’m a New York Islander. I think I’m supposed to hate them.”
Rangers coach Peter Laviolette was livid after the game, claiming Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech’s neutral-zone collision with Mika Zibanejad in the third period that sent him to the dressing room was “intentional,” though Islanders counterpart Patrick Roy agreed with the referees it was “accidental.” Laviolette also didn’t like defenseman Noah Dobson’s late hit on Vincent Trocheck.
Semyon Varlamov, starting for the sixth time in nine games, made 13 of his 32 saves in the third period for the Islanders (36-27-15), who have won five straight. Igor Shesterkin stopped 25 shots for the Rangers (53-22-4), who had a three-game winning streak snapped and remain one victory shy of setting the franchise record.
“I think we owned the game,” Laviolette said. “The puck was on our stick the entire second and third period.”
The late-game physicality may trigger more of the same when the teams meet at Madison Square Garden. But the Islanders can’t concentrate on that. They are just two points ahead of the Capitals in the division while the Penguins lurk three points back.
“It was a great game,” Roy said. “We had a really good start. I thought after 40 minutes we were the best team on the ice.”
The Rangers held a 12-0 shot advantage midway through the third period but Anders Lee clinched it with an empty-netter with 5.8 seconds to go.
“Just relief,” Varlamov said. “Then a lot of excitement.”
The Islanders taking three penalties in the middle 20 minutes and ceding two power-play goals was reminiscent of the Rangers rallying for a 6-5 overtime win on Feb. 18 in their Stadium Series game at MetLife Stadium. The Islanders led 4-1 in the second period before Chris Kreider and Zibanejad scored on six-on-four man advantages late in the third period.
Defenseman Mike Reilly was whistled for interference on Jack Roslovic at 6:41 and Kreider’s tip made it 3-1 at 7:47.
The Islanders killed off defenseman Robert Bortuzzo’s trip of Alexis Lafreniere at 11:16 but Dobson was promptly called for delay of game at 13:48. Defenseman Adam Fox connected from the blue line to make it 3-2 at 15:01.
“I thought they came out with more intensity than we did,” Rangers right wing Jimmy Vesey said. “They’re playing for their life. Even though we’ve played some teams that are in similar situations to them, I don’t think anyone’s come out that hard against us and that was the difference in the game.”
The Islanders’ three-goal first period rated as one of the best they’ve played all season. Perhaps the best given the magnitude of the game and the opposition.
It started with Mathew Barzal shooting wide on a breakaway but being awarded an unsuccessful penalty shot at 1:25 as he was hooked by Fox.
Reilly opened the scoring at 4:12, deflecting in a shot off the stick of Rangers defenseman Ryan Lindgren from the left circle.
Horvat made it 2-0 at 11:47, deflecting Dobson’s shot from the right point with Barzal’s secondary assist extending his point streak to five games.
Kyle Palmieri upped it to 3-0 at 13:38 with Dobson’s second assist giving him 60. He became just the second Islanders defenseman to reach that mark after Hall of Famer Denis Potvin — who attended the game — did it four times.
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.
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