Halak soars as Islanders top Rangers
Veteran goalie has 50 saves in shutout
NEW YORK — The New York Islanders invariably raise their game against the Rangers. This time they kept that trend — and a win streak — against their crosstown rivals going with a shutout.
Jaroslav Halak had a season-high 50 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers on Thursday.
Halak was masterful as the Islanders beat the Rangers for the third time in three meetings this season, and 10th of the last 11.
Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle and Thomas Hickey each scored, and rookie sensation Mathew Barzal had three assists to help the Islanders move into a tie with Columbus one point behind Carolina for the second Eastern Conference wild card.
“This felt like a playoff atmosphere. It was intense,” the 20-year-old Barzal said. “And Jaro has been our backbone. He made a lot of key saves. That was a must-win for us.”
Halak, who faced 51 shots in a 4-1 home loss to Columbus on Tuesday, had 15 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and 21 in the third for his 42nd career shutout.
Halak’s effort was the most saves for any goaltender this season in a shutout and one shy of the franchise record set by Glenn Healy on Jan. 16, 1990, against Vancouver.
Halak said weariness is not a factor despite the barrage of shots he has faced in recent games.
“I feel fine. It’s all about managing between games and getting enough rest,” said the 32-year-old netminder who improved to 18-18-4 this season.
Henrik Lundqvist finished with 32 saves for the Rangers, who have lost six of eight overall and dropped to 0-4-1 in five visits to Barclays Center since the Islanders moved to the Brooklyn arena in 2015.
At Pittsburgh, Zach Aston-reese scored to break a tie with 5:24 left to back Matt Murray, who had 34 saves, as Pittsburgh won its 10th straight home game.
At Newark, N.J., Stefan Noesen scored twice for New Jersey, and Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists as the Devils won their second straight.
At Tampa, Fla., Steven Stamkos scored twice, and Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists to back Andrei Vasilevskiy, who had 38 saves.
At St. Paul, Minn., Alex Ovechkin scored his league-best 34th goal and had three assists, and Tom Wilson scored twice for Washington.
At Glendale, Ariz., Brendan Perlini scored twice in a 19-second span in the second period for Arizona, which won its third straight.
At Chicago, Ondrej Kase had a goal and two assists to back John Gibson, who had 42 saves, as Chicago lost its eighth straight.
At San Jose, Calif., Mikkel Boedker and Brent Burns each had a goal and an assist to back Martin Jones, who had 43 saves.
At Ottawa, Ontario, Mike Hoffman scored 1:13 into overtime, and Marian Gaborik scored in his Ottawa debut.
At Nashville, Tenn., Matthew Tkachuk and Dougie Hamilton each had a goal and an assist for Calgary.
Penguins 3, Kings 1 — Devils 5, Hurricanes 2 — Lightning 4, Red Wings 1 — Capitals 5, Wild 2 — Coyotes 5, Canadiens 2 — Ducks 3, Blackhawks 2 — Sharks 4, Canucks 1 — Senators 3, Sabres 2, OT — Flames 4, Predators 3 —