ISLANDERS VS. RANGERS

Andrew MacDonald and Frans Nielsen scored goals for the Islanders, but it was not enough as the New York Rangers came out on top, 5-2 in the back end of a home and home series.

Just like they did the previous night, the Islanders came out storming early on, outshooting the New York Rangers 9-0 during the first eight minutes of play.

I think we were pretty happy (with the first period), John Tavares said. We got a lot of good chances. Lundqvist played one of his better games, he made a lot of great saves out there.

However, it would be the Rangers to get on the scoreboard first.

Ryan Callahan gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead in the first period on a power play goal for his eighth goal of the season. With Mark Streit in the penalty box serving a holding minor, Marian Gaborik sent a centering pass towards the front of the Islanders net. The pass got Islanders goaltender Dwayne Roloson moving and threw him off-balance.

However, Gaboriks centering pass hit a pair of bodies in the crease, leaving the puck wide open for Callahan to deposit into the open cage for a Rangers one-goal lead.

Chris Drury expanded the Rangers lead to 2-0 with 2:04 left in the first period for his third goal of the season. Drury capitalized on a rebound from a Sean Avery shot, catching Roloson moving and backhanded the puck over the sliding Islanders goaltender for the two-goal Rangers lead.

Rob Schremp had a key scoring chance early on during the Islanders first power play opportunity. With Marc Staal in the penalty box serving a high sticking penalty, an errant shot deflected to Schremps direction with a good chunk of open net at his disposal. However, Schremps shot was quickly turned aside by Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvists right pad to keep the Islanders off the scoresheet.

Islanders Head Coach Scott Gordon thought that save by Lundqvist, although early was a game changer.

Rob Schremp has that open net, but Lundqvist probably made his best save of the night on that power play, Gordon said. That couldve set the tone.

Islanders outshot the Rangers 14-4, in the first period. Lundqvist ended up stopping everything that was thrown at him in the opening frame.

I think we did so many good things out there, Frans Nielsen said. We shot good pucks, but Henrik pretty much stood on his head.

Callahan scored his second goal of the game just 27 seconds on the powerplay into the second period to increase the Rangers lead to 3-0. With Andy Sutton in the penalty box serving a hooking minor, Marian Gaborik sent a pass down low to Callahan. Callahan worked his way in front of Roloson and muscled the puck between the Islanders goaltenders legs to give the Rangers a three-goal lead.

The Islanders would strike back midway through the middle frame on an Andrew MacDonald goal to cut the Rangers lead to two.

With the Rangers on a powerplay, Christopher Higgins was called for tripping and the Islanders took advantage. Mark Streit took an Isles faceoff win deep in the Rangers zone, faked a slapshot and dished the puck off to Andrew MacDonald. MacDonald took two steps and blasted a slapshot past Lundqvist at the 9:31 mark of the second period to cut the Rangers lead to 3-1.

The goal was a special one for the young Islanders defenseman - his first career NHL marker.

Marian Gaborik scored 3:37 into the third period with his league leading 24th goal of the season on the power play. With the Rangers holding a 5-on-3 advantage, Gaborik one-timed a pass from Vinny Prospal and ripped a slapshot past Roloson to give the Rangers a 4-1 lead.

Artem Anisimov added another Rangers tally to the scoreboard just three minutes later to pad their lead to four goals.

Frans Nielsen added a goal for the Islanders with 4:46 left in the third period - his fifth goal of the year. Nielsen redirected an Andy Sutton slapshot through the Lundqvists legs to cut the Rangers lead to 5-2.

Three Stars of the Game:
1. Ryan Callahan, NYR: Four point night (two goals, two assists)
2. Henrik Lundqvist, NYR: 35 saves for the win
3. Marian Gaborik, NYR: League leading 24th goal, two assists

Slapshots: Islanders outshot the Rangers, 37-22...Trent Hunter led all Islanders with 7 shots on goal...Rangers were 3-6 on the power play, while the Islanders were unsuccessful on seven man advantages...Sean Bergenheim (ribs), Jeff Tambellini (healthy), and Bruno Gervais (healthy) were the Islanders scratches...This was the third meeting between the two teams, with the Islanders taking the first two meetings...Islanders hold an all-time record of 100-103-22 against the Rangers.


ISLANDERS
Forwards
26 Matt Moulson - 91 John Tavares - 57 Blake Comeau
12 Josh Bailey - 51 Frans Nielsen - 21 Kyle Okposo
58 Jesse Joensuu -13 Rob Schremp - 7 Trent Hunter
16 Jon Sim - 11 Nate Thompson - 10 Richard Park

Defensemen
2 Mark Streit - 47 Andrew MacDonald
25 Andy Sutton - 38 Jack Hillen
32 Brendan Witt - 44 Freddy Meyer

Goaltenders
30 Dwayne Roloson
43 Martin Biron

NEW YORK RANGERS
Forwards
20 Vinny Prospal - 17 Brandon Dubinsky - 10 Marian Gaborik
21 Christopher Higgins - 26 Erik Christensen - 24 Ryan Callahan
22 Brian Boyle - 23 Chris Drury - 87 Donald Brashear
16 Sean Avery - 42 Artem Anisimov - 81 Enver Lisin

Defensemen
4   Michael Del Zotto - 5 Dan Girardi
18 Marc Staal - 33 Michal Roszival
54 Bobby Sanguinetti - 49 Ilkka Heikkinen

Goaltenders
30 Henrik Lundqvist
29 Chad Johnson