Anders Lee scored with 5:30 remaining in the third period as the New York Islanders rallied for a 4-3 victory over the host New York Rangers Tuesday night.
The Islanders won for the seventh time in eight games (7-1-0) and beat the Rangers for the second time this season by pulling off their second straight third period comeback and fifth comeback win overall.
Lee gave the Islanders a 4-3 lead by putting a backhander into the net after getting the rebound of his own shot and shortly after Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba committed a giveaway by the half-wall near the right circle.
Adam Pelech and Brock Nelson started the Islanders’ comeback by getting goals — Nelson’s on a power-play — after power-play tallies by Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck in the second staked the Rangers to a 3-1 lead.
Pelech drew the Islanders within 3-2 by blasting a shot from the high slot by Rangers’ goalie Igor Shesterkin’s stick 14 seconds into the third. Nelson tied with 7:14 left by sending a slap shot from the left circle into the net.
Kyle Palmieri scored an early power-play goal as the Islanders improved to 7-2-0 in their past nine trips to Madison Square Garden.
Filip Chytil scored in the opening period for the Rangers, who are on their second three-game losing streak this season.
Islanders’ goalie Semyon Varlamov, who entered with four straight shutouts at MSG, made 37 saves.
Shesterkin stopped 22 shots and dropped to 1-6-1 lifetime against the Islanders.
After Palmieri lifted in a rebound 6:04 into the first period, the Rangers scored three straight for a 3-1 lead.
Chytil tied the game a little over five minutes after Palmieri’s goal by putting a wrister over Varlamov from between the circles.
Kreider finished off a 2-on-1 with Artemi Panarin 22 seconds into the second and nearly scored again midway through the period but his deflection rang off the post. Kreider also seemed to score with 7:54 left when his deflection appeared to go over the goal line but after a lengthy review, officials determined he did not score.
New York took a two-goal lead with 6:13 left when the rebound of Panarin’s slap shot caromed off Islanders’ defenseman Scott Mayfield’s skate in front and Trocheck backhanded the loose puck by Varlamov while falling to the ice.
–Field Level Media