Trailing the Rangers 2-1 entering the third period, Anders Lee and the New York Islanders stunned the crowd at Madison Square Garden.

  • New York Islanders 3 (34-26-12, 80 pts)
  • New York Rangers 2 (45-25-4, 94 pts)
  • NHL, Final, Box Score
  • Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
For two-plus periods at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night, business was unraveling as usual between the New York Islanders and Rangers.

There were terrific goals, chippy play and even a heavyweight bout that the old-timers will be bantering about tomorrow morning at the water cooler. Business as usual also showcased itself in the form of the higher team in the standings holding a 2-1 lead over the team from Brooklyn.

Then, though, the team from Manhattan allowed a glimmer of hope in the form of irresponsible play. Two third period penalties led to two power play goals from Doug Weight‘s team, allowing them to come back on the Rangers and earn a hard-fought 3-2 victory on the road.

First, it was Nikolay Kulemin who picked up a cheapie on the rare double-deflection:

Then, a little over seven minutes later, Anders Lee made a terrific play in front of the net by finding Andrew Ladd for the slam dunk:

Thomas Greiss and company held their ground after the go-ahead job. Speaking of Greiss, he picked up the win by stopping 33-of-35 shots. On the other side, Antti Raanta‘s three goals against were all wide-open, unmanageable shots. He came up with 25 saves.

The other goal-scorer for the Isles was the offensive man of the night, Anders Lee.

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The Manhattan squad looked solid for much of the night. They simply couldn’t come up with a solid penalty kill when it mattered most. A lack of discipline did them in.

Mats Zuccarello tallied the first goal of the game on the power play while Rick Nash put together one of the Nashtiest goals of the season that broke a 1-1 tie in the second:

There was also a heavyweight bout between Tanner Glass and Scott Mayfield that did not disappoint:

The Rangers have now dropped seven straight games at home. Thanks to Toronto’s 5-2 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets, the Isles kept pace for that last wild card spot in the east.

Next up for the Isles will be the Pittsburgh Penguins at the Igloo on Thursday. The Rangers will travel to the west coast and skate against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday night.

 NEXT: Rangers Contenders or Pretenders? 

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Robby Sabo
https://jetsxfactor.com
Robby Sabo is a co-founder, CEO and credentialed New York Jets content creator for Jets X-Factor - Jet X, which includes Sabo's Sessions (in-depth film breakdowns) and Sabo with the Jets. Host: Underdog Jets Podcast with Wayne Chrebet and Sabo Radio. Member: Pro Football Writers of America. Coach: Port Jervis (NY) High School. Washed up strong safety and 400M runner. SEO: XL Media. Founder: Elite Sports NY - ESNY (Sold in 2020). SEO: XL Media. Email: robby.sabo[at]jetsxfactor.com

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