The New York Rangers were shut out by the Islanders for the second game in a row as the Isles clinched a playoff spot for the third straight year. The 3-0 score and result were similar to Thursday’s game, but it did have better feel. Slightly better.
The game was pretty much over when Anthony Beauvillier broke in and put a puck past Alexandar Georgiev four and a half minutes into the game. The Islanders tend to win when they score first and after tonight they are 22-1-2 with a league best .880 winning percentage. If there was any doubt, the fact that Semyon Varlamov was in net again was the clincher. He happens to be the hottest goalie in the NHL now and has allowed only one goal in his last four games with three shutouts.
Semyon Varlamov turned aside all 28 shots he faced and leads the League with seven shutouts this season, including four against the Rangers. #NHLStats pic.twitter.com/1PqAdX4VA2
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) May 2, 2021
Statistically the teams were evenly matched. They both had 23 shots at full strength. The Rangers had four high danger scoring chances compared to two for the Isles. The Islanders had 50 shot attempts to 45 for the Rangers at even strength. What the Isles had was a strangling defense that kept the Rangers from penetrating and getting the proverbial “good looks.”
For the second game in a row, the Rangers were physically manhandled by the Islanders starting with a nasty elbow to the face of Mika Zibanejad by Matt Martin that went unpunished by the referees or any of his teammates.