Rangers Beat Damaged, Sloppy Islanders 5-2

NEW YORK — The New York Rangers (8-2-1) defeated the New York Islanders (4-6-2) in Madison Square Garden on Sunday afternoon. Artemi Panarin scored twice, including the game-winning goal on the power play. Once again, the Islanders’ lack of special teams cost them another winnable hockey game.

The Islanders competed well with the first-place New York Rangers, but the difference between being in first place and being where the Islanders are is big plays in big moments.

Ilya Sorokin stopped 35 shots out of 39 for the Islanders. Brock Nelson and Casey Cizikas were the lone goalscorers for the blue and orange.

Igor Shesterkin kept 35 of 37 pieces of rubber out of the net. Chris Kreider, Vincent Trocheck, and Adam Edstrom scored the other goals for the Rangers.

First Period:

The Islanders came out fast, gaining the game’s first four shots on goal and drawing a penalty on Jacob Trouba just over three minutes in. Noah Dobson’s worst turnover of the season led to a Kreider shorthanded goal. Dobson fumbled the puck under duress to Kreider, then slung it blindly across the middle of the ice to Mika Zibanejad, who played catch with Kreider down the ice until Kreider slammed it home.

From there, the rest of the first period saw up-and-down action. Both teams had glorious chances, but brilliant play from the Russian netminders kept the game at 1-0 through the end of the frame.

Second Period:

The second period started in just about the worst way possible, with Samuel Bolduc topping Noah Dobson’s turnover for the worst play a defender could make. With the puck coming out from behind his net, Bolduc didn’t move it. Reilly Smith bullied him off the puck and slid it to Trocheck wide-open in the slot, and it was 2-0 just 81 seconds into the second period.

After the game, Islanders’ Head Coach Patrick Roy lamented Bolduc’s play. “It’s sad… he needs to be better if he wants to play for us.” Bolduc had one more shift after that mistake and did not get any shifts in the third period.

Elliotte Friedman reported last night that the Islanders are considering adding a defenseman or two, given the injuries. Bolduc likely forced the team’s hand with his game today.

Three minutes later in the game, Simon Holmstrom carried through center ice and made a composed pass to Pierre Engvall on the rush. Having by far his best game of the season, Engvall flew into the zone and fired a shot toward Shesterkin. Igor bobbled the puck, allowing Cizikas to slam in the loose change for his first of the season.

Special Teams Failure:

After that, the Islanders received a 36-second 5-on-3 powerplay opportunity after Kreider hooked Oliver Wahlstrom, and Adam Fox took his first of two delay-of-game penalties on the day.

The power play failed to move the puck quickly enough, and Shesterkin made the save he needed to make. Then, Anders Lee interfered with Trouba to negate the last 1:14 of the Islanders’ power play. Couple that with an ensuing Ryan Pulock hook on Trocheck, and the Rangers had themselves a brief 14-second 5-on-3.

The Islanders efficiently killed the 5-on-3, but moments later, Artemi Panarin wired home a wrister that Sorokin whiffed at. Trocheck provided a slight screen, but it’s a goalie Sorokin, as Roy admitted postgame, should’ve had.

The Islanders went from down 2-0 to 2-1, then had a chance to tie the game with a 5-on-3 power play, all of which sputtered. Then, the Rangers capitalized on their opportunity. That made it 3-1 and ultimately made the difference.

It’s worth noting that Grant Hutton thrived while Bolduc rode the pine. Hutton also played more than Dennis Cholowski. Roy was so impressed by Hutton’s play that he had him out there for the 5-on-3 kill.

End of Second:

Moments before the second period ended, the Islanders’ second line rushed in, flanked by Lee (in lieu of Maxim Tsyplakov) at the end of a shift.

Noah Dobson received a centering pass that bounced away as he and Filip Chytil got tangled, leading to both the Rangers and their fans clamoring for a call on a nothing play. Lee, with great awareness, found an open Kyle Palmieri across the ice. Palmieri danced around Trouba, who inexplicably dove to the ice in a starfish manner. Trouba’s sprawling gave Palmieri the time to find Nelson on the backdoor, who buried it with just eight seconds left in the period.

That provided a huge momentum change and allowed the Islanders to have something to build off of entering the third period.

Third Period:

The third period started with a flurry of Islanders attacks, including a golden opportunity. Holmstrom, coming fresh out of the penalty box after a holding call on him, had a 2-on-1 with Horvat. Holmstrom made a pretty move to the slot and fed Bo Horvat on the backdoor to try and tie the game.

The only problem is that Shesterkin made a great save on Horvat to keep the Rangers ahead. Horvat lamented that chance and a second-period breakaway, both of which Shesterkin denied. “I have to score those,” he said.

Moments later, the Rangers made the Islanders pay again. Adam Edstrom deflected a shot that popped high in the air before dropping just over the goal line and back out. After once again passing up an opportunity to tie the game, the Islanders once again trailed by two.

Despite a push, the Islanders wouldn’t score on Shesterkin again. Panarin eventually sealed the game with an empty netter, pushing the Rangers over the line.

Final Takeaway:

It’s become an all-too-familiar story for this team. The Islanders win, or at least tie, the 5v5 battle (2-2 today), but the special teams don’t come through.

The power play went 0/5 on Sunday afternoon, sinking into further peril. The penalty kill went 2/3, but the difference is special teams. The Rangers’ special teams outscored the Islanders’ special teams 2-0.

It’s not good enough, even given all the personnel changes. The penalty kill today was mostly solid. The goal stings, but it can be argued Sorokin should’ve had it. Results matter for a reason, though.

The Islanders’ next game is against the Pittsburgh Penguins, a fellow basement dweller. It is Tuesday night at 7:30 in UBS Arena.