NEW YORK — Mathew Barzal likes playing at Madison Square Garden. It helps that both he and the New York Islanders have been successful there.
Barzal had a goal and an assist, Semyon Varlamov stopped 27 shots for his 36th career shutout and the Islanders beat the rival Rangers 3-0 on Friday night. Barzal has 17 points in 12 career games on the Garden ice.
"Any player that comes into MSG gets a little bit more fired up, there's so much history here," he said. "It's a fun atmosphere. Aside from that, I think it's just Islanders-Rangers rivalry.