New York Rangers going for three in a row versus the Islanders

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Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers. (Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images)

The New York Rangers and the New York Islanders will meet for the third time this month. With a momentous first win and a hard earned second victory , the Rangers look to shut down the Islanders for the final time this month.

Both New York teams will meet for the third time in rapid succession this month with the New York Rangers halfway to completing a series sweep. The Rangers and Islanders have a tumultuous history and the two previous games certainly reflected that. With some unfinished business from the January 13 game being revisited in the January 16 game, it will be exciting to see what this matchup has in store.

With Ranger goaltender Alexander Georgiev facing Islander’s Semyon Varlamov in the first meeting, the Rangers were able to top the Isles with an impressive six goals. This was matched by only a pair of goals from the Islanders, with the opening goal being notched 18 seconds into the first period by veteran Jordan Eberle.

The Rangers answered back with six consecutive goals with Artemi Panarin getting points on five of them. The run was started by Jesper Fast in the first period, then Chris Kreider and young defender Adam Fox in the middle frame. Panarin broke open the third period with two goals, both on breakaways. Defenseman Jacob Trouba contributed to the scoring making it a 6-1 game until Brock Nelson netted a goal when it was already too late.

It was an easy decision for head coach David Quinn to quickly confirm Georgiev’s start for the second meeting and he faced Varlamov again from across the ice at the Nassau Coliseum. His .941 save percentage and 32 saves got him the nod despite having two other goaltenders on the roster besides Georgiev.

The Islanders were wildly inconsistent in the second matchup. In the first period, the Rangers were outshot 22 to 6. Next period, the Isles were able to register only five shots on goal, but credit must be given to the Rangers for tightening up their game lot more during that period. Total shots on net were 40 to 28 in favor of the Isles. Although both teams applied stifling pressure on each other, the Rangers were able to pull out a late period goal thanks to Kreider.

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The scoring broke open with a Josh Bailey goal with a rather uneventful first period. The Islanders didn’t follow up with any more goals and neither did the Rangers until Mika Zibanejad’s surprise goal in the second period. Initially unnoticed and after a review of the play it was determined to be a good goal after Zibanejad was just able to jam it over the goal line. It was certainly a turning point in the game.

Tony DeAngelo netted one to start the third period, in which Islander Anthony Beauvillier evened the score. In the end, it was a game that revolved around patience and skill that also totaled 12 penalties. As the Islanders looking to register a win against their cross river rival this season, the Rangers are hoping to prove themselves over a Metro rival and continue to fortify confidence.

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