NEW YORK -- John Tavares set up Nikolay Kulemin for the winning short-handed goal 3:03 into the third period as the New York Islanders continued their recent success over the New York Rangers with a 4-2 victory on Thursday night.
The Islanders began the third period killing off a double-minor high sticking penalty by Josh Bailey, whose stick drew blood on Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh with nine seconds left in the second period.
After spending the opening minutes in their defensive end, the Islanders took a 3-1 lead thanks to some tenacity from Tavares. His shot from close range stopped by Henrik Lundqvist, but he maintained possession.