New York Rangers Fall To New York Islanders 2-1
The Rangers are reeling. The Islanders beat them for the second consecutive day. This was another important divisional win for the Islanders. Newly acquired Ondrej Palat is playing on the Islanders’ top line.
The Islanders believe they can make the playoffs this season and win a couple of rounds. The Islanders traded for both Palat and Defenseman Carson Soucy from these very Rangers on Monday night. Do you think the Islanders will make the playoffs?
Rangers and Islanders Scoring Summary
Last night, the Islanders beat the Blue Shirts 5-2. The win for the Islanders starred the newly acquired Palat and the defenseman the Islanders got from their rival, Soucy. That was only the fourth trade ever between the two teams, and the Islanders, after the win, tied the Islanders for second place in the Metropolitan Division and mired the Rangers further in last place in the division. This is the 100th anniversary season for the Blue Shirts. Here is a scoring summary from the game.
In the first period, there were no goals. The Islanders did have the better of the play, but they needed to jump out in front and did not.
In the second period, the Islanders did jump out with a couple of notable goals. First, Soucy scored against his old team to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead. Then the sensational rookie, Matthew Schaefer, scored, giving the Islanders a 2-0 lead. That is how the period ended.
In the third period, Mika Zibanejad scored for the Rangers on the power play, cutting the Islanders’ lead to 2-1. That goal made it a tension-filled final 18 minutes as the Islanders were forced to hang on.
Sorokin Starts
Being the second half of a back-to-back, Ilya Sorokin started in the second half of the Islanders’ home-and-home series against the Rangers. “We should be ready for everything,” Sorokin said. “[We] and just play smart [and] stay focused all 60 minutes.”
Sorokin stopped all 21 shots he faced in his last start and earned his sixth shutout of the season. That game was an Islanders’ 4-0 win over the Flyers on Monday night. The 30-year-old goaltender made 33 saves and shut out the Rangers in the Isles’ 5-0 victory on Nov. 8. He is 17-12-2 with a 2.43 goals against average, a .916 save percentage, and a league-leading six shutouts this season.
Player Of the Game
The player of the second consecutive game between the Islanders and the Rangers was Soucy, who scored a goal against his former team. When you add that goal to the goal Palat scored last night, both newly acquired Islanders have scored for their new team.
Turning Point
The turning point of this game was Schaefer’s second-period goal. It was his 14th goal of the season, three behind Denis Potvin for the most goals by an Islanders rookie defenseman. That goal also proved to be the game-winning goal.
Frequently Asked Questions
The final score of the game was 2-1 Islanders. The Rangers seem lost, but they played well in this game. The player of the game was Soucy, who scored against his former team. The Islanders play host to the Nashville Predators at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Rangers play on Saturday as well at 3:30 p.m. against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Parting Shots
The Islanders needed to take advantage of the home-and-home series with the last-place Rangers. These are four points the Islanders should have, especially if they want to keep pace with the Penguins, with whom they came into this game tied. They leave tied, but they swept their season series with the Rangers.
