Rangers vs Islanders: Rangers Fall to Islanders with Late Goal Against
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders met yet again this season, and while there wasn’t much hype surrounding this game, it ended up being a pretty entertaining game. The Islanders were able to find the game winning goal late in the third period, and it came on their only shot on goal of the period.
1-0 Rangers
Ryan Strome (6) - Jimmy Vesey (12) & Filip Chytil (8) - 1:38 1st Period
The Rangers started this game off pretty quickly as Cody McLeod drew an early penalty and sent the Rangers to the power play. Just 1:38 into regulation, Ryan Strome capitalized on a beautiful centering feed from Jimmy Vesey and snapped a shot past Robin Lehner.
1-1 Tie
Mathew Barzal (13) - Johnny Boychuk (8) - 2:31 1st Period
Unfortunately, that Rangers’ lead would only last a little under a minute as Mathew Barzal burned the Rangers on a transition play in the neutral zone. A poorly timed line change by the Rangers led to the opportunity, and Mathew Barzal tucked the puck under Henrik Lundqvist to make it a 1-1 game.
2-1 Islanders
Jordan Eberle (9) - Anders Lee (17) & Mathew Barzal (27) - 8:51 1st Period
A short time later, the Islanders took their first lead of the evening with a power play goal courtesy of Jordan Eberle. Mathew Barzal made his presence known once again and setup the one-timer chance for Eberle off to the left of Henrik Lundqvist. The puck appeared to take a slight deflection off of the defenseman on the shot, and created a bit of a change-up for Lundqvist as it slipped in behind him.
2-2 Tie
Kevin Shattenkirk (2) - Frederick Claesson (3) - 1:11 2nd Period
It took the Rangers some time to find the tying goal, but they finally jumped right back into the game with an early second period goal coming from Kevin Shattenkirk. The goal came off of a bit of a broken play in the right corner, and the puck slipped right out to Shattenkirk in the high slot. With plenty of traffic in front, Shattenkirk shoveled a shot on that deflected off of the crossbar and back in behind Robin Lehner to make it 2-2.
3-2 Islanders
Anders Lee (16) - Nick Leddy (14) & Mathew Barzal (28) - 3:08 2nd Period
Much like the first period, the Islanders almost immediately answered back on the power play to put the Islanders back out in front. The point shot by Nick Leddy wound up being deflected at the top of the crease by Anders Lee, and Henrik Lundqvist never even stood a chance. The puck was in and out of the net before Lundqvist could react, and the Islanders regained their one goal lead.
3-3 Tie
Jesper Fast (7) - Neal Pionk (15) & Pavel Buchnevich (6) - 8:40 3rd Period
Later on in the third period, the Rangers responded with an early goal by Jesper Fast that brought them back tied for the third time this game. A great individual effort by Jesper Fast in the high slot led to the chance, and he was able to chip a shot over Robin Lehner. Fast was able to lift the defenseman’s stick and get a shot off all in one motion, and suddenly the Rangers were right back in this game.
4-3 Islanders
Josh Bailey (9) - Cal Clutterbuck (6) & Johnny Boychuk (9) - 18:34 3rd Period
However, despite the Rangers completely controlling the third period, it took just a single shot for the Islanders to steal the game from right under the Rangers. A missed assignment by Neal Pionk led allowed the Islanders a slight window for a scoring chance, and they took full advantage of it. Cal Clutterbuck was able to find Josh Bailey wide open on the blown defensive coverage, and Bailey slammed home the chance to ice the game.
Following tonight’s loss to the Islanders, they will have a scheduled off day tomorrow before closing out the home-and-home series against the Islanders on Saturday afternoon at Barclays Center.
