For now, the Battle of New York goes to the New York Rangers.
In a midweek, away matchup, the New York Rangers furthered their efforts in the Wild Card playoff race with a 5-1 win over the New York Islanders. The Tuesday contest saw many highlights for the Rangers, including nine different Blueshirts recorded points. Jonny Brodzinski led the pack for the Rangers — prompting many to type "Here's Jonny" all over social media. He posted an impressive three points (two goals, one assist).
Here's four rapid other takeaways from the matchup.
1. A (small) Home Crowd at UBS Arena
For those watching on their television screens, the crowd at Long Island's UBS Arena looked dismal to say the least. As of presstime, an attendance number has not yet been made available to the public or the media. However the crowd that was as the Islander's home rink showed a lot of fans wearing New York Rangers gear. This is to be expected, given the close proximity Long Island has to New York City.
The final goal of the night was scored towards the end of the second period by young enforcer Matt Rempe. The goals earns him his second of the season and puts him at four total points so far. Despite being on the Isles' turf, the crowd was chanting Rempe's name.
"Rem-pe!" chats have begun at UBS Arena.
— Peter Baugh (@Peter_Baugh) February 26, 2025
2. Injuries Galore
Chris Kreider was initially expected by fans and the media to return to the ice against the Islanders. The longest tenured veteran on the Rangers' roster did not see play in Pittsburgh because he was a late scratch Sunday with an upper-body injury, even after taking part in pregame warmups. He did get power play work and was skating during morning skate on Tuesday. However, he did not see action.
UPDATE: Chris Kreider (upper body, day-to-day) will not play tonight.
— NY Rangers PR (@NYR_PR) February 25, 2025
Additionally K'Andre Miller and Adam Fox both played but departed the game for the locker room and did not return. Miller did not return due to an undisclosed lower body injury while foc's upper body injury was likely sustained due to landing hard on his left shoulder during the third period.
3. Igor Shesterkin Shines, Again
Goaltender Igor Shesterkin boasted a .973 save percentage along with 36 saves, stopping all but one. This marked his 20th win of the season. With this, Shesterkin recorded an additional milestone in that he has now hit four consecutive seasons with 20 wins or more wins.
4. Ryan Lindgren's Career High
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren recorded two assists in the matchup against the fellow-New York foe. With his now 9 points on the season (two goals, 17 assists), Lindgren has established a single-season career high in points. The Minnesota native has six assists/points in his last five games.