It’s been an impressive couple of nights for the New York Islanders.
After coming back from a two-goal deficit to beat the Flames on Monday in overtime, the Islanders did almost the same thing to their rival Rangers. Down 3-1 in the third period, the Islanders scored three unanswered goals to win 4-3 on Tuesday night in front of a sold out Madison Square Garden.
“Our guys have a lot of heart. They believe and they don’t quit,” coach Lane Lambert said after the game.
“Yea, this team’s got it and we know what we’re capable of when we play the right way,” Anders Lee, who scored his eighth goal of the season, said. “We can roll our four lines, put pressure on and do those little things but still have to put the puck in the net. Credit to our guys to get a couple to even tie the game later or even have the opportunity to win it.”
The Islanders got off to a hot start, getting out to a 1-0 lead after Kyle Palmieri’s fifth goal of the season. Filip Chytil would tie the game before both teams headed into the second period, which is where momentum was firmly on the Rangers’ side.
The Rangers outshot the Islanders 17-6 in the second period and had two powerplay goals from Chris Kreider and Vincent Trocheck.
“We played a solid road period especially on a back-to-back,” Lambert said. “Then we ran into plenty of trouble in the second period and that was the difference in the first 40 minutes.”
“Second period, we had some penalties so the flow got messed up a little bit on our end,” Lee said. “We stuck with it and we got through a couple of those kills and got our game going in the third.”
The Islanders did find their way in the third, finding the back of the net to shock their rivals. Tuesday night’s game was the second win the Islanders have over the Rangers already this season, and the importance of the win isn’t lost on the Islanders’ captain.
“No matter what’s said about either of our teams, it’s a big game for both sides,” Lee said. “It’s a division game, it’s a rivalry game. It means a lot to both sides of fans and it’s one you like to be on the right side of.”
Both teams meet just one more time this season, Dec. 22 back at MSG.
