No lead is safe against the New York Islanders.
Len Lambert’s “Never Die” group scored three unanswered goals in the final period, and the Islanders stunned the New York Rangers. Tuesday Night 4-3 at Madison Square Garden, For the second straight game, Rangers took a two-goal advantage and for the second straight game, the Islanders came back from a two-goal deficit to take another win.
“I think our people have a lot of heart. They obey and don’t give up,” Islanders coach Len Lambert told reporters after the game.
A Jimmy Vesey tripping call set up the first goal of the game when Kyle Palmery scored on Man Advantage for an early 1–0 lead. The score was Palmy’s fifth goal of the season and his third in two games against Rangers. Lambert’s team came into the game on the Powerplay, finishing 27th in the NHL. Palmeri’s goal won’t be the only chance for the islands.
Rangers will soon be back and dominate the game. Filip Chitill leveled in a contest in the middle of the first period, and the Blueshirts would score the Powerplay. Twice on powerplay in the second. With a 3-1 lead, Rangers and their fans were hoping their recent crisis would come to a resounding close.
However, this is not the way the Islanders play. Adam Pelek scored 15 seconds into the third period and Isles’ second Powerplay goal would level the game at three. Anders Lee would score a Jacob Trouba turnover that stunned not only the Madison Square Garden crowd but the New York Rangers as well.
“I think we played on our heels a little bit, trying to win the game but not lose. Obviously, if you sit back on your heels and don’t take advantage of your opportunities, then They’re going to take advantage of it,” Vincent Trochek told reporters after the game.
Tuesday’s game was not without controversy. In the second period, a clear Chris Creder goal was reversed when replays showed the puck had not gone all the way through the goal. Anders Lee’s game-winning goal came on a clear penalty from the Islanders captain who went non-stop.
“I’m not going to say that, but you’ve seen the last two goals and what the conditions were,” Gallant said. “I thought we played well enough to win tonight.”
The Islanders’ victory placed them second in the competitive Metro division, as well as a season tiebreaker over Rangers. The two teams will once again face off at Madison Square Garden on December 22.
The Rangers have now skipped their third straight game: their second three-game slide on the youth NHL season, and play the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. The Islanders, meanwhile, have won four of their first five games in November and play Arizona on Thursday nights.
game notes
- The Islanders did not have Cal Clutterbuck’s game in Tuesday’s competition and gave no reason. Ryan Lindgren and Julian Gauthier were both dropped from the Rangers lineup due to upper body injuries and are considered day-to-day by Gerard Gallant.
- Tuesday was Artemi Panarin’s 200th game in Ranger uniform and he made two assists that night. Panarín led the team into the game with 17 points and 12 assists.
- Filip Chitil’s goal broke Semyon Varlamov’s 12-period scoreless streak at Madison Square Garden. This is the islanders’ eighth win over their rivals in the last 10 matches.
