New York Rangers vs Islanders: It was too good to be true after 4-2 loss

The New York Rangers run of domination over the Islanders came to a crashing halt with a 4-2 loss at Madison Square Garden.

This was truly one of the most bizarre games of the season for the New York Rangers and it was fitting that their opponent was their longtime nemesis, the Islanders.  It was a game that saw the Rangers’ penalty kill fail miserably, goals bounce in off sticks and ankles, a goal disallowed due to an offside and three Islander penalties in the last few minutes for spearing and delay of game.

For most fans the game was over when Brock Nelson scored the Islanders’ fourth goal 3:13 into the third period, but a series of bizarre penalties resulted with the Rangers pulling their goalie with over five minutes left in the game and it actually working as they drew within two goals.

That was it for the comeback, though they were gifted another power play with three and a half minutes left.  They couldn’t score and we were treated to Anthony DeAngelo playing goal and stopping two empty net goals.

The big headline before the game was that Artemi Panarin was not going to play due to a nagging injury that he has been playing through. While Panarin’s absence was felt deeply, the Blueshirts played well enough in this game to win, but they failed where the Islanders were opportunistic and the penalty kill couldn’t stop them when it was needed.  They also had no puck luck at all and Thomas Greiss had an outstanding game.  All in all, it was a bizarre evening.

The loss left the Rangers with a 2-3 record in this crucial five games before the All-Star break and mandatory bye week.  The Rangers are now ten points out of the final wild card spot and their playoff aspirations are slipping away.  It has taken 98 points the last two seasons to make the playoffs.  In order to get to that total, the Blueshirts will have to go 24-10 in their last 34 games, a doubtful proposition.