Kreider, Fox lift Rangers
PHILADELPHIA — Chris Kreider scored with 6:30 left, fellow All-Star Adam Fox had two assists and the Rangers beat the slumping Philadelphia Flyers 3-2 Saturday night.
Mika Zibanejad and Filip Chytil also scored for the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers, who have won six of eight.
“I was really proud of our group tonight,” Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. “We competed, we played well and everybody chipped in.”
Oskar Lindblom and Cam York scored for the Flyers, who dropped their seventh straight. Carter Hart made 24 saves.
“We know that we need a win and you start playing to think about only that result and quite often you forget about that one little thing you have to do right at that moment,” interim coach Mike Yeo said. “It’s very challenging when you’re dealing with the stress and emotion of going through a losing streak like this. You have to make sure you continue to stay focused on the process.”
Gallant returned to the bench for the Rangers after missing the last two games due to health and safety protocols. New York finished an 11-day, five-game road trip 3-2.
Igor Shesterkin, coming off of consecutive shutout victories, made 26 saves for the Rangers.
Kreider scored on a deflection from the slot after Fox’s pass from long range. Both Kreider and Fox were named to the Feb. 5 All-Star Game on Thursday, marking the first time since 2012 that the Rangers will have multiple players there.
“He’s definitely been a dominant player this year,” Fox said of Kreider. “When we need him, he steps up.”
CAPITALS 2, ISLANDERS 0
Tom Wilson scored early, Alex Ovechkin added an empty-net goal late, and Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves to lead the Washington Capitals to a 2-0 victory over the Islanders on Saturday.
Vanecek picked up his seventh win of the season and his third career shutout as the Capitals snapped a four-game skid (0-2-2).
“The guys was buzzing today,” Vanecek said. “They were not making mistakes. They helped me a lot with the blocked shots.”
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves in only his fifth start for the Islanders since allowing four goals against the New York Rangers in late November.
Wilson opened the scoring with a wrist shot from the slot at 4:35 of the first period. The Islanders lost track of Wilson when the Capitals broke over the blue line and a spinning Aliaksei Protas zipped a pass to Wilson, who was all alone between the circles. Washington outshot the Islanders 16-7 in the first 20 minutes.
“First goal really helps settle you in on an early game,” Wilson said. “That helps us play the game we want to play. If you are chasing the game you get away from some of your habits and the stuff that it takes to win.”
The Islanders’ best opportunity came midway through the first period when defenseman Noah Dobson fired a wrist shot off the post after making a nifty move to create space in the slot.
“We got to find a way to get the puck to the net, especially late,” Islanders captain Anders Lee said. “We got to find a way to bear down and get something greasy.”
Vanecek preserved the shutout when he denied Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom on a stuff-in opportunity with 2:30 remaining in the third period. The 26-year-old goaltender is in his second season with Washington after the organization selected him in the second round of the 2014 NHL draft. The Czech goalie has collected 28 career victories in 55 appearances with the Capitals.
The Islanders were 0-3 on the power play and fell to 5-10-2 when they fail to capitalize on the man advantage.
“I often think specialty teams are a reflection of your five-on-five play,” Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. “Our guys were dialed in, that means the penalty killers were dialed in.”