ELMONT, NY — Backed by an impressive power play and goals from the top line, the New York Islanders won their final preseason game, beating the cross-town rival New York Rangers 5-2 on Friday night.
The power play went 2-for-4 on seven shots.
Mathew Barzal had one goal and four assists. Bo Horvat had two goals, while Anthony Duclair added a goal and two assists.
Here’s how it happened:
The Islanders got off to a roaring start, dominating pace of play, but Rangers netminder Igor Shesterkin rose to the occasion.
Despite the lopsided shot total, the Rangers scored first on a weird play, as the puck off Jonny Brodzinski’s stick fluttered in the air before rolling down Varlamov’s back and in at 6:52 of the first:
The Rangers made it 2-0 at 8:54 of the first after Rangers defenseman Adam Fox banked the puck off a body in front and in:
After a strong set-up by Maxim Tsyplakov, Horvat rang the crossbar from the high slot.
He got his revenge with 1:12 to play in the first after he wired a power-play goal glove slide from the slot to cut the Islanders’ deficit to 2-1.
Tsyplakov showed off his patience, taking his time behind the net before feed Barzal inside the left dot, who found Horvat:
Tsyplakov’s patience behind the net is everything on this play. And then after dishing to Barzal, he gets back in front of Shesterkin. https://t.co/I2wBCX5ZFh
— Stefen Rosner (@stefen_rosner) October 5, 2024
After a dominant shift by the Islanders’ top line, Barzal found Horvat for the second time, scoring on an empty cage at 15:07 of the second to make it a 2-2 game.
Rangers defenseman K’Andre Miller accidentally pushed Anthony Duclair into his netminder, leading to the tying goal:
The Islanders power play continued to cook, with Tsyplakov scoring his first goal in an Islanders (NHL) sweater after he banked one off Miller in front from behind the net with 37 seconds to go in the second:
Barzal notched his fourth point of the night, beating Shesterkin high glove side on the breakaway at 17:19 of the third to give the Islanders a 4-2 lead, icing the game:
Just 27 seconds later, Barzal finds Duclair in the low slot to make this a 5-2 game with 2:14 to go in the third:
Semyon Varlamov stopped 21 of 23 in the win, playing the entire game.
UP NEXT: The Islanders begin their regular season against the Utah Hockey Club at UBS Arena on Oct. 10.
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