New York Rangers overcome the New York Islanders in St Patricks Day clash
By Conor Power
It wasn't convincing to start, but in the end the New York Rangers were able to hand the New York Islanders their fourth straight defeat. Despite a gruesome injury to Ryan Lindgren, the Rangers overcome their city rivals and win their fifth game in the last six to keep the hunt alive for the Presidents Trophy.
It would be the Islanders penalty kill that would strike first. With Pierre Engvall in the box for holding, the Islanders would dump the puck up the ice for Brock Nelson to go and chase. He would gather it and find Bo Horvat alone in the slot who was able to beat Igor Shesterkin from close range and let the Islanders take control of the special teams battle early, which has been a facet of the game the Rangers have relied on all seaon for their success.
Early in the second period, the Rangers would tie the game up by flexing their star talent. A puck dumped into the offensive zone allowed Jack Roslovic to win a puck battle and get it into the high slot. Mika Zibanejad skated onto one and blasted one hard enough to have taken the netminder into the goal with it had he gotten in the way. It found the net and the Rangers tied the game on that rip from the big Swede.
It would be the Rangers that break the tie in the second period when Adan Fox flipped the puck behind his back to Ryan Lindgren. Lindgren found a pass down the middle of the ice to Will Cuylle who was alone. He snipes it on the breakaway, and the beautiful pass from Lindgren made that happen, a sensational play from all three involved for that marker, and the Rangers get to play from in front.
The Islanders would knot the game up at two with six minutes to go in the second. A defensive zone loss allowed the Islanders to get onto the forecheck. Kyle Palmieri gets it back to the point for a shot, it was knocked down by Shesterkin, but Bo Horvat fired it home on the rebound to get us back to level terms. Not great team defense forcing the Rangers into giving up their lead.
66 seconds later, it would be a New York lead. A loose puck in the left offensive circle allowed K'Andre Miller to walk onto one and slap it towards the front of the net. Jonny Brodzinski was able to lift one up over the pad of Ilya Sorokin and into the net to put them up 3-2 with a quick answer. Still had been a sloppy game for the Rangers, but who wouldn't rather win a sloppy game than lose a clean one?
In the third period, the Rangers would strike early again. Erik Gustafsson was able to win a board battle and get the puck to Kaapo Kakko. Kakko was left alone, and walked into the middle of the ice, dancing through two, three, four defenders and then solving the netminder with relative ease to fire it home and give the Rangers a multiple goal lead and some security in a game that has posed problems all night long.
Your Rangers would continue to grow the lead in the third when the vaunted second line would strike. Artemi Panarin would pick the puck up behind the net and fire the puck into the wheelhouse of Alexis Lafreniere in the high-slot for a one-timer that he put in off the corner where the bar meets the post. A picture perfect shot, and the Ranger were now up three in the third. This game is over, and the Rangers get to enjoy the two points.