National Hockey League
NY Rangers 3, NY Islanders 2
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, January 16, 2020
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees: Garrett Rank, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Brad Kovachik
Attendance: 13917

Chris Kreider scored a power-play goal with 24.6 seconds left in the third period Thursday night as the visiting New York Rangers edged the New York Islanders 3-2 in Uniondale, N.Y.

Kreider put back the rebound of a shot by Mika Zibanejad for the Rangers, who were on the power play following a crosschecking call on Derick Brassard.

Zibanejad and Tony DeAngelo also scored as the Rangers beat their local rivals for the second time this week -- the Rangers won 6-2 on Monday -- and for the fourth time in five games overall. Goalie Alexandar Georgiev made 38 saves in the first Rangers-Islanders game at Nassau Coliseum since Mar. 10, 2015.

Josh Bailey and Anthony Beauvillier scored for the Islanders, who have lost three of four (1-2-1). Goalie Semyon Varlamov recorded 25 saves.

The Islanders took the lead in the final minute of the first period. Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba beat the Islanders' Tom Kuhnhackl to a clearing pass offered by Kuhnhackl's teammate Devon Toews. But Trouba could not corral it behind the Rangers' net and Kuhnhackl grabbed the puck. His pass intended for Ross Johnston glanced off Johnston's stick to Bailey, whose shot sailed past Georgiev and into the net with 50.3 seconds left.

The Rangers tied the score on a chaotic power-play goal shortly beyond the midway point of the second. Moments after Scott Mayfield was whistled for tripping, Varlamov slowed but couldn't stop a shot by DeAngelo that may have been redirected by Kreider. The puck crawled behind Varlamov and Ryan Pulock swooped in to try and shovel it out, but Zibanejad got a stick on the puck and tucked it into the net as Pulock unsuccessfully tried sweeping it out with his glove with 7:14 left.

The Rangers broke the tie early in the third period immediately after the Islanders nearly took the lead twice at the end of a power play generated when DeAngelo was called for interference. Jordan Eberle had a shot carom off the top post and then had a putback attempt deflected by Georgiev. DeAngelo exited the penalty box, picked up the puck in stride and beat Varlamov for the unassisted goal at 4:16.

The Islanders tied the score just 11 seconds after dual penalties on Casey Cizikas (hooking) and Rangers center Artemi Panarin (embellishment). Beauvillier, exiting the neutral zone, fired the puck towards the net. The puck took an awkward bounce off the back boards and ricocheted back to Beauvillier, who never broke stride and tucked a shot under Georgiev's legs from point-blank range with 7:20 remaining.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
NY Rangers   NY Islanders
Mika Zibanejad 2 Points Josh Bailey 1
Mika Zibanejad 1 Goals Josh Bailey 1
Mika Zibanejad 1 Assists Ross Johnston 1
Mika Zibanejad 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Alexandar Georgiev .950 Save Percentage Semyon Varlamov .893
Alexandar Georgiev 38 Saves Semyon Varlamov 25
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
NY Rangers 28 3 2-5 5-5 12 24
NY Islanders 40 2 0-5 3-5 12 37
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game at home against Washington. The Islanders have a W/L % of .621 after a win and .588 after a loss.
  • NY Rangers will play their next game at home against Columbus. The Rangers have a W/L % of .364 after a win and .625 after a loss.