Panarin scores tying goal, shootout winner as the Rangers edge Isles

NEW YORK — Artemi Panarin scored late in the third period to tie game and tallied the shootout winner as the New York Rangers rallied to defeat the New York Islanders 3-2 for a franchise-record 54th win on Saturday.

Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves, Braden Schneider scored a shorthanded goal and Vincent Trocheck ended the shootout with another goal as the Rangers inched closer to winning the Presidents’ Trophy for the NHL’s best regular-season record.

“I think it says a lot. They should be proud of it, Laviolette said of the wins record. ”This team was able to battle hard. We still have a lot of work to do.”

Panarin scored to the open the shootout against Ilya Sorokin. After Kyle Palmieri hit the post and Brock Nelson was stopped by Shesterkin, Trocheck ended the exciting game between the long-time rivals with a shot into the lower corner of the net that ended the Islanders’ six game winning streak.

“It was a really emotional game, very intense and a lot of fun,” Schneider said after the Rangers rallied to win for the 28th time this season.

Nelson had scored twice in the second period to put the Islanders ahead 2-1 but Panarin scored his 48th goal with 4:17 remaining to tie the game and help the Rangers end a two-game slide.

The Islanders are 8-2-1 in their last 11 games and moved closer to clinching a playoff spot, thanks to their late-season surge under Patrick Roy who replaced Lane Lambert as head coach on Jan. 20. The Islanders are third in the Metropolitan Division with 90 points and two games remaining.

“It was hard-fought game. We had really good chances in that third period to make it a 3-1 game,” Roy said. “We’ve picked up points in seven straight games and that’s a good point for us.”