Islanders humble Rangers on their home turf

Just three blocks to the east of Madison Square Garden — the longtime home of the New York Rangers — the iconic Empire State Building was brightly lit up in blue and orange in the wee hours of Monday morning.

That’s right. That is not a misprint. Blue and orange. Islanders colours.

“I was shocked at that,” former Islander Glenn Healy said with a laugh during an interview Monday afternoon.

“To have that just steps away from MSG, the place known as the Rangers house — wow.”

Healy has a point. What better way to say “In Your Face” to your bitter rivals than to make a 102-storey statement like that for all the world to see.

Oh, how that sight must have gnawed away at the psyche of proud Rangers fans, who were left humbled after a weekend of hockey that saw a new NHL sheriff in town.

On Saturday, the Rangers’ season ended with a resounding plop in Pittsburgh, where they were eliminated from the playoffs with a humiliating 6-3 loss to the mighty Penguins.

For an aging team with pressing salary-cap issues, the future is murky at best.

On Sunday, it was a different story just eight kilometres away from MSG, across the East River in Brooklyn, where John Tavares put the Islanders on the playoff map after 23 years — not to mention putting them on the covers of the splashy New York tabloids — with his double overtime goal that gave the hosts a 2-1 win, ensuring a second-round date with the Tampa Bay Lightning and eliminating the Florida Panthers in six games in the process.

“BROOKWIN!” screamed the headline on the back page of the New York Post.

“AT LAST!” proclaimed the huge words that greeted Newsday readers.

Tavares might be the most unappreciated superstar in the league. Nobody will debate how good he is. Or that he deserves the “superstar” label. But to watch him put on his back this Islanders team that, let’s face it, not a lot of people outside the team’s loyal fan base watch, and help it win a series that, frankly, they were outplayed in, well, it made the entire hockey world stand up and take notice.

“I called Johnny the best player in the league earlier in this series,” defenceman Travis Hamonic said. “(That) was as good a performance as I’ve seen anyone do.”

Had it been another player drafted first overall by the Islanders, he might not still be with the team by now, frustrated by the instability of this franchise. But Tavares has resisted the temptation to go elsewhere.

And now he and his teammates are reaping the rewards.