Jonny Brodzinski scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:59 remaining in the second period as the host New York Rangers pulled away for a 5-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Sunday afternoon.
Nearly a month after rallying for a 6-5 overtime win at the Stadium Series in East Rutherford, the Rangers trailed briefly and gave a one-goal lead before scoring the final three goals in the first of three meetings between the teams in the final month of the regular season.
Mika Zibanejad and Will Cuylle scored in New York’s three-goal second period. Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere tallied in the third as the Rangers won for the fifth time in six games and improved to 16-3-1 in their past 20 contests.
Bo Horvat scored twice for the Islanders, who saw their losing streak reach four games following a six-game winning streak.
New York goalie Igor Shesterkin made 25 saves against his close friend Ilya Sorokin, who allowed five goals on 31 shots.
The Islanders took a 1-0 lead with 5:52 left in the first when Horvat scored his second short-handed goal as an Islander by getting a pass from Brock Nelson at the right side by the goal line and lifting the puck into the vacated upper right corner of the net.
Zibanejad tied it 27 seconds into the second when his one-timer from above the circles sailed over Sorokin’s glove following an errant clearing pass by Islanders’ defenseman Alexander Romanov.
Cuylle gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead when he was open in the right circle following a slow line change by the Islanders and sent a shot past Sorokin with 9:46 left. Horvat got his second goal with 6:05 left by getting the rebound of Mike Reilly’s point shot and pushing the puck under Barclay Goodrow’s legs as the two players jostled for position by the net.
The Rangers regained the lead a little over a minute later. K’Andre Miller went to the right corner to retrieve Alex Wennberg’s cross-ice pass and his slap shot from the right circle was re-directed by Brodzinski in front over Sorokin’s left arm.
After the Rangers cycled the puck around, Kakko beat Sorokin with a wrister 2:36 into the third from the right circle after beating Engvall to a loose puck along the boards.
Lafreniere finished the scoring off with a shot that hit the upper right corner of the net midway through the third.
Rangers’ defenseman Ryan Lindgren exited the game because of an apparent left knee injury in the second period.
–Field Level Media