Rangers get first win at Brooklyn on 8th attempt

The New York Rangers knew all about their longrunning struggles in Brooklyn. Any win over the Islanders these days was going to be welcome.

Mats Zuccarello’s wellplaced skate sent the Rangers happily back to Manhattan.

Zuccarello scored late in the third period, redirecting a shot from the point with his foot to lift the Rangers over the Islanders 2-1 on Saturday for their first ever win at Barclays Center. Filip Chytil also scored and Alexandar Georgiev made 24 saves to help the Rangers win in Brooklyn for the first time since their intra-city rivals began playing home games there in 2015.

The Islanders had been 13-2-0 in the teams’ previous 15 meetings.

“We didn’t talk about it before the game or anything, but I was well aware,” Marc Staal said.

“It was nice to see that goal go in during the third and us able to hang on and get a win.”

The Rangers had been 0-6-1 in their previous seven games in Brooklyn, with their only point coming on Dec. 2, 2015 in a shootout loss.

The game completed a home-and-home between the Islanders and Rangers, which began on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. It also marked the final meeting between the Big Apple rivals this season, with each team winning two games.

Saturday’s win was an important one for the Rangers, who had yet to win since the calendar flipped to 2019. The Rangers had been 0-5-0 since the start of January and scored three or more goals just once in that span.

“We battled. We were determined to get a win here finally,” Mika Zibanejad said. “I thought we played right from minute one. Just battled hard on the PK, on the power play, 5-on-5. It was a really good win and I’m happy.”

Devils 3, Flyers 2:

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Rookie Mackenzie Blackwood returned to the lineup after missing three games with an injury and made 32 saves in leading host New Jersey.

Blackwood, 22, who returned from a lowerbody injury, is 4-2 in nine games. He has allowed two or fewer goals in eight of his nine appearances.

Damon Severson, Nico Hischier and Miles Wood scored as the Devils won for the second time in six games and handed the Flyers their ninth loss in the past 10 games (1-7-2)

Carter Hart, another rookie goalie who is 20, gave the Flyers a chance, making 23 saves. He is the seventh goalie they have used this season.

James Van Riemsdyk and Sean Couturier scored for Philadelphia.