Thrilling game, tough 2-1 loss

Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates his go ahead goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates his go ahead goal against the New York Rangers during the third period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
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New York Islanders right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates his go ahead goal against the New York Rangers Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
New York Islanders right wing Kyle Palmieri (21) celebrates his go ahead goal against the New York Rangers Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /

The New York Rangers lost a thrilling game to the Islanders, 2-1, on a Kyle Palmieri goal with only 2:44 left.  It was the Igor Shesterkin vs Ilya Sorokin show as both young Russian goalies put on a fabulous display with Sorokin just a little bit better. Ranger fans will complain about the officiating, but in the end, this was a great game between two very competitive teams.

These are not the Islanders who dropped out of the playoff race in mid-December.  Finally, they are scoring and they never forgot  how to play defense.  Still, the Rangers were the better team for most of the game and but for Sorokin, the Blueshirts could have three or four goals.

Coach Gerard Gallant was pragmatic about the result. “I thought we played great. From start to finish I thought we played a great hockey game.  Disappointed to lose 2-1,  but you play like that most nights you’ll get success…it was a good hockey game, back and forth, two evenly matched teams, unfortunately they got the bounce at the end.”

It felt like a playoff game with great pace and a loud home crowd.  Considering that the Rangers were overwhelmed  by the same team last season, the improvement was notable.  Playing at this level bodes well for the postseason.

Frank Vatrano made his Rangers debut and  was noticeable, playing with Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin.  In fact, just 5:40 into his first game, it was Vatrano who passed up a shot and fed Panarin who had a wide open net. Only Sorokin made one of the best saves of the year, a lunging stick save that kept the game scoreless.

After the game, Vatrano was pleased,  “It was great, especially to play a rivalry game on St. Patrick’s Day. It was a lot of fun.  I wish we got the two points, but I think it was a good effort all around.”

The first period was scoreless, but ended with the Islanders on the power play when Barclay Goodrow was called for hooking Mathew Barzal.

The Islanders cashed in on the power just 49 seconds into the second period with one second left in the man advantage when Anders Lee scored in his sixth straight game.   Barzal fed Lee who was open in the slot and he fired the puck past Shesterkin.

The Rangers evened it when Chris Kreider scored on the power play, his 40th of the season.  Scott Mayfield had been called for interference at 11:53 and Kreider scored with just 15 seconds left and the second power play unit half on the ice.

Kreider was streaking down the wing and took a nice pass from Alexis Lafrenière for the goal.

The Rangers and Islanders exchanged chances in the third period with both goalies stopping breakaways.

The turning point came with under three minutes left when Oliver Wahlstrom elbowed Ryan Lindgren in the head.  Lindgren was stunned and lost his stick, but had to defend.   The Rangers were able to clear, but their change was disorganized and the Islanders were able to sustain the attack and scored when Ryan Pulock shot a fluttering puck at the goal and Kyle Palmieri was able to bat it into the net.

After the goal a furious Ryan Lindgren berated the referees for the uncalled elbow. It was hard to miss the blood trickling down his face.

The Blueshirts pulled Shesterkin with about 90 seconds left and kept the puck in the Islanders zone most of the remaining time, but were unable to convert.

Here is a video recap of the game:

Gallant admitted he was unhappy with the officiating, more with the calls against the Rangers than the non-calls.  He said he didn’t see the elbow taken by Lindgren.  After the game, Gallant called it a “coin toss” and no one should be unhappy with the result. It would have been nice to salvage one point, but they played hard and played well enough to win.

Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) celebrates his 40th goal of the season during the second period against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) celebrates his 40th goal of the season during the second period against the New York Islanders at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /

Notes on the game

As comfortable as the Rangers are in playoff position, the loss combined with a win by Washington and the Capitals have closed to within three points of the Rangers. The Blueshirts have a game in hand on Washington, but the race is definitely tightening up.

Pittsburgh moved ahead into second place in the Metropolitan Division by beating the Blues in a shootout.  One reason the Penguins have had success is their ability to gain at least a point in games.  They have gone to overtime or a shootout 16 times this season, compared to 11 times for the Blueshirts.

Chris Kreider reached the 40 goal mark, the 25th Ranger to achieve that feat.  Mika Zibanejad was the last player to do it, two years ago.  It’s the sixth time it’s been done in the salary cap era since 2005-06.

The goal for Kreider was his league leading 21st power play goal. Only four Rangers have scored more power play goals in a season and Jaromir Jagr’s franchise record of 24 is well within reach.  The NHL record belongs to Philadelphia’s Tim Kerr with 34 PP goals in 1985-86.

This one is hard to believe.  When Alexis Lafrenière assisted on Chris Kreider’s goal, it was  the first power play point in his career.  That was in 115 games and 142 minutes of power play time over two seasons.  Hard to believe.

The two goals allowed by Igor Shesterkin was the fewest he’s given up since allowing one to Winnipeg on March 6.  He still boasts the leagues best save percentage at .938 and his 2.07 goals against average tops the NHL as well.

The loss gives him a home record of 16-3-2.

Frank Vatrano played 14:47 including 48 seconds on the power play.  After the game, Gallant said that he was to see Vatrano shooting the puck more, but he thought he played very well.

Ryan Reaves  had a very physical game with a team leading seven hits.  He’s reached that number twice in the new year after getting seven or more hits in a game five times in the first 28 games.  He laid out Zdeno Chara with a reverse hit and skated away when Chara tried to pick a fight.

It was a close game with the Rangers outshooting, outhitting the Islanders and also better on the faceoff dots, winning 58% of the draws.

Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save on New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 17, 2022; New York, New York, USA; New York Islanders goalie Ilya Sorokin (30) makes a save on New York Rangers left wing Chris Kreider (20) during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-USA TODAY Sports /

My 3 Rangers stars

  1. Chris Kreider gets the first star for scoring the Rangers only goal and playing a solid, physical game.  He led the team with five shots on goal and was robbed by Sorokin at least twice.
  2. Igor Shesterkin played well enough to win and lost on an unfortunate bounce of an offspeed, fluttering shot.  He had no chance on the Anders Lee power play goal.
  3. Any number of Rangers could qualify for the third star, but we’ll give it to Filip Chytil who played another solid game.  He was 3-0 on faceoffs and is showing more determination on the boards and on rushes.  If he keeps this up, and that’s a big if, he could be turning a corner.

The official 3 stars

  1. Ilya Sorokin – Islanders
  2. Kyle Palmieri – Islanders
  3. Igor Shesterkin – Rangers

What’s next

From the frying pan into the fire.  The Rangers head to Tampa to take on the Lightning who are in a dogfight for first place in the Atlantic Division.  They will looking to prevent a sweep of the three game series by the Rangers.  In the second of back-to-back games, they then take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh on Sunday night.  Carolina has lost only four games in regulation at home this season and  spanked the Rangers in the Blueshirts’ last trip to North Carolina, 6-3 in late January.

The Capitals play in Carolina on Friday night and host Dallas on Sunday so they have a tough schedule as well. The Penguins take on the Coyotes on the road in their only game this weekend.

The trade deadline is 3pm on Monday.  Let’s see what Chris Drury can pull out of his hat.

Looking ahead to the next 10 games. light. Related Story

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