First Period:

Second Period:

Third Period:

• Casey Cizikas (2) Assists: Matt Martin (2), Adam Pelech (3)
• Matt Martin (1) Assists: Cal Clutterbuck (3), Mathew Barzal (8)

Stats:

Adam Rotter:

• The Rangers had their chances. They had the two PPs early in the game, but more importantly they had Panarin’s breakaway and Zibanejad and Kreider’s 2 on 1 in the third and neither converted.
• They played a solid game. They were physical, strong defensively and matched what the Islanders brought, but the Isles converted on Ranger mistakes and that was the difference.
• This was a game where the Rangers rolled four lines and six defensemen and all were pretty good. Libor Hajek had been having a good night and then he threw a blind pass and the Isles converted.
• David Quinn said this morning that there are things the Isles do that the Rangers want their players to do and first among them has to be how the Isles go to and create havoc around the net. The Rangers had some great chances, but weren’t creating a ton of traffic in front.
• Once the Isles scored, even before their second goal, you could tell that the game was pretty much over. The Rangers had been getting chances, but they were isolated and even though they had the puck in the Isles zone and worked hard at getting it back, the way the Isles defend and with how Varlamov was playing, the Rangers were going to need something special and they didn’t get it.
• Igor Shesterkin was very good and it was the right call to ride him after the prior two games. He made a number of big saves, and I don’t think he can be faulted on either Islander goal, but Varlamov was just a little better. The loss, even though Shesterkin wasn’t at fault, gives them an easy excuse to start Georgiev against Boston.
• It’s great that Alexis Lafreniere had five hits. It shows that he isn’t afraid to mix it up and isn’t afraid to play along the boards, but he had zero shot attempts, according to the NHL’s stats, and that isn’t great. His linemate Phil Di Giuseppe, though, had six shots on goal.
• You can see that Mika Zibanejad is working hard, that he’s skating and was terrific on faceoffs, but he’s pressing with the puck. He needed that goal in the third, but in general he just needs a goal.
• So the winning streak is over and the Bruins come in for two games later this week. Boston has been on a roll and they will present another challenge for this young team. The Rangers have been up for many of them, but haven’t picked up the wins.