The New York Islanders needed badly a complete game, something that they had not been able to put together since acquiring Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac. Going up against the rival New York Rangers, fresh off a four-game sweep of the New Jersey Devils, seemed like a tall task.
But perhaps that was just the motivation that the Isles needed.
The Islanders played one of their best games of the season, the kind of game that gives a team back its groove. They dominated the Rangers through all sixty minutes of tonight’s game and earned two huge regulation points to keep the Rangers down in the standings.