Halak stops 50 shots, Islanders beat Rangers
NEW YORK — Jaroslav Halak stopped 50 shots for his first shutout of the season as the New York Islanders kept up their recent mastery of the crosstown-rival Rangers with a 3-0 victory Thursday night.
Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle and Thomas Hickey each scored for the Islanders, who have won all three meetings this season and 10 of the last 11.
Rookie sensation Mathew Barzal had three assists to help the Islanders move into a tie with Columbus one point behind Carolina for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.
Halak, who faced 51 shots in a loss to Columbus on Tuesday night, had 15 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and another 21 in the third for his 42nd career shutout.
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 Bazrclays Center since the Islanders moved to the Brooklyn arena in 2015. The Rangers remained four points behind the Hurricanes, who lost at New Jersey.
Bailey opened the scoring at 4:53 of first period with a powerplay goal for his 15th goal of the season with Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei in the penalty box for tripping.
Eberle made it 2-0 at 15:06 of the second when fired a loose puck past Lundqvist for his 20th. Leddy got his second assist of the game on the goal.
Hickey increased the lead to 3-0 at 3:57 of the third period with his third goal of the year on which Barzal recorded his third assist of the night.
Barzal has nine assists in his last four games and 25 points in last 17 contests. The 20-yearold center has 16 goals and 46 assists for 62 points, most among rookies this season. Nico Hischier had a goal and two assists, and Stefan Noesen scored twice to lead New Jersey to a home victory over Carolina. Kyle Palmieri and Damon Severson also scored for the Devils. Keith Kinkaid made 27 saves. Zach Aston-Reese broke a third-period tie with a power-play goal and Pittsburgh beat Los Angeles at home. Two nights after scoring his first two NHL goals, Aston-Reese gave the Penguins the lead at 5:24 of the period. Kris Letang’s point shot through traffic clipped Aston-Reese’s skate and went between goalie Jonathan Quick’s pads. Steven Stamkos scored twice, Nikita Kucherov had a goal and three assists, and Tampa Bay beat Detroit at home. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 38 saves and Victor Hedman picked up three assists for the Lightning. Alex Killorn had the other Tampa Bay goal.
Derick Brassard tied the game with 31 seconds remaining and Mike Hoffman scored the game-winner as Ottawa beat Buffalo at home.
Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 34th goal and had three assists, and Tom Wilson scored twice for the Washington Capitals in a win against the Minnesota Wild. Matthew Tkachuk and Dougie Hamilton each had a goal and an assist in the Calgary Flames’ victory over the Nashville Predators. Mark Jankowski and Curtis Lazar also scored, and David Rittich made 29 saves. The Flames won two of their last three to finish 4-2 on their longest trip of the season. Ondrej Kase had a goal and two assists, Adam Henrique scored in the third period and Anaheim beat Chicago on the road. Brendan Perlini scored twice in a 19-second span in the second period, and Arizona won at home for its third straight victory and fourth in the last five games.