Difference Between Varlamov & Sorokin The New York Rangers made it close late, however the New York Islanders held on to defeat the New York Rangers 4-2. Igor Shesterkin stopped 25 of 28 shots faced in the losing effort, while Semyon Varlamov picked up another win for the Islanders with 34 saves. Image [https://thehockeynews.com/.image/c_fit,h_600,w_600/MjA1NjI4OTA0MjI2OTU2ODI5/usatsi_22984740.jpg] The Islanders brought the pressure in the first 20 minutes and, while failing to convert on a penalty shot opportunity from Mathew Barzal, got on the board first on a lucky bounce. Mike Reilly skated down the left wing boards and let a shot go from the exterior, which found the stick of Rangers' defenseman Ryan Lindgren and bounced past Igor Shesterkin. Reilly got credit for his sixth of the season to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead 4:12 into the first. The Islanders kept the pressure after getting the lead, with Barzal sending the puck back to right point for Noah Dobson who let the puck fly. The puck caught Casey Cizikas' stick in the slot and beat Shesterkin, giving the home team a 2-0 edge at 11:47 of the frame. Barzal's secondary helper extended his point streak to five games, totaling six assists in that span. Horvat's two-point period gives him five points in five games, totaling three goals and two assists. Two goals were not enough for the Islanders, as they lit the lamp one more time before the intermission. After a Dobson pass to Brock Nelson missed the mark, the latter won the battle and dished the puck to Kyle Palmieri who tapped the puck into a gaping cage, making it 3-0 after 20 minutes. Dobson's two-assist period gave him 60 assists and 70 points for the season. He becomes the second defenseman to record 60 assists in a season, joining Denis Potvin, and third to have a 70 point campaign, joining him and Jean Potvin. The Islanders outshot the Rangers 17-11 in the first period en-route to their big lead after the first. The Rangers came out of the break pushing and earned three power play opportunities in the period and converted on the bookend chances. On the first opportunity, a dish from Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider tipped home a shot from by Artemi Panarin, cutting the lead to 3-1. Panarin extended his point streak to 10 games, the forward has eight goals and 14 assists in that span. On the second chance, after getting a tie up on the draw, Kreider sent the puck back to Adam Fox, who snuck the puck past Semyon Varlamov to make it 3-2 inside the final five minutes of the middle frame. However, the Islanders were able to stave off the Rangers momentum after 40 minutes, clinging on to a one-goal lead despite being outshot 10-8 and the two goals against. The third period saw the Rangers dominate the play, outshooting the Islanders 13-4, but Varlamov stood tall despite various turnovers in front of him. With the net empty late, Dobson took down Vincent Trocheck in the corner, but no penalty came from the play, leading to the Islanders getting a breakout. Pierre Engvall and Jean-Gabriel Pageau started a breakout for Anders Lee to net his 20th of the season on an open cage, icing away a 4-2 win. Up Next: The Islanders welcome the Montreal Canadiens to UBS Arena on Thursday, puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
