#NYR fall to the Islanders 2-1.
Next up: the Flyers on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/MZ24bePsMP
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 6, 2018
It was a battle for last place in the Metropolitan Division as the New York Rangers and New York Islanders faced-off for the final time this season.
- New York Rangers 1 (34-38-9, 77 points)
- New York Islanders 2 (34-37-10, 78 points)
- NYR Goals: Kevin Hayes (25)
- NYI Goals: Thomas Hickey (5), Anthony Beauvillier (21)
- NHL. Final. Boxscore.
- Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York.
The New York Rangers and New York Islanders were in a battle for draft lottery positioning as they battled for the final time this season. It was the Islanders with the 2-1 win taking the season series Thursday night.
There was plenty of questions coming into this game. Some were wondering if this would be John Tavares final game at Barclays Center as an Islander. Others were interested to see if the Islanders’ skill could do to the Rangers what the New Jersey Devils did Tuesday night. And some wanted to see if the Rangers could finally win a game in Brooklyn.
Early on though the Rangers made sure that would not happen, capitalizing on the power play with Kevin Hayes putting the Rangers on top.
Hey
Hey
Hey
Hey
HAYES
Out of the air and into the ?Stay tuned on @MSGNetworks #NYR pic.twitter.com/lw3rGpwVUr
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) April 5, 2018
As the Rangers season winds down, they continue to look for some positives. With Filip Chytil, they are starting to see some progress.
Chytil is very enjoyable to watch pic.twitter.com/yEt7j2rxW0
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 5, 2018
The Isles came out in the second and took control of the game thanks to the play of Jaroslav Halak. Halak made 13 saves in the second and 21 through two periods of play. His solid goaltending allowed for the Islanders to go to work offensively.
Short-handed rush for Hayes, Andersson, and Pionk pic.twitter.com/qy3RwqZhLd
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 6, 2018
Sometimes some puck luck helps out the opposition and this time the Islanders got the bounce. The puck deflected off of John Gilmour and past Ondrej Pavelec allowing the Islanders to tie it at one.
Isles tie it 1-1, it's Lee's 40th of the season pic.twitter.com/VaSM8uX7N5
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 6, 2018
Along with getting some luck, the Isles still showed they have plenty of skill and that was evident on their second goal.
2-1 Islanders pic.twitter.com/s9fuhCfJAV
— Shayna (@hayyyshayyy) April 6, 2018
Neither team would score in the final period as the Islanders would win their final game at home this season. They will finish their season Saturday afternoon in Detroit. The Rangers will finish their season Saturday in Philadelphia.
