New York Islanders Keep Hope Alive With Win Against New York Rangers

The New York Islanders and New York Rangers squared off for the final time this season. Who was victorious on Wednesday night?

The New York Islanders and New York Rangers wrapped of their regular season series with a thrilling game on Wednesday night.

After a rather quiet first period, business really picked up in the second period for both teams. Mats Zuccarello was able to break the scoreless game with a power-play goal. After hitting the post a few minutes earlier in the game, Zuccarello didn’t miss on the man advantage.

Shortly after the goal by Zuccarello, the Islanders answered right back with one of their own. On a rebound in front of the net, Anders Lee was able to blast a shot by Antti Raanta to tie the game.

Following the goal from Lee, we saw some fireworks a few minutes later. With such a great rivalry comes some bad blood. With this likely being the final time the Rangers and Islanders play this season, Tanner Glass and Scott Mayfield dropped the gloves.

After the fight juiced up the crowd at MSG, Rick Nash was able to break the tie with a goal. On the great individual effort, Nash was able to score his 20^th goal of the season to give the Rangers the lead.

To start the third period, the Islanders went on to a power play early. Even though they were unsuccessful on previous attempts in the game, they cashed in on this one. With a bit of luck, the puck redirected off the skate of Nikolay Kulemin past Raanta to tie the game.

With the game tied late in the third, Lee was able to make an excellent backhand pass to Andrew Ladd on a power play. Ladd did the rest by getting the puck past Raanta, giving the Islanders the 3-2 lead.

Next: Top 5 Isles Draft Picks in Last Decade

Despite a lot of pressure late in the game, the Islanders were able to hold off the Rangers. This was a much-needed win for the Islanders, as they are trying to keep pace with the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs for the final Wild Card spot.