It had the pace, the goals and the frenetic excitement that surely made this look like an Islanders playoff game from last season.
Which is to say, the way they managed to claim a 5-3 victory over the Rangers on Friday night at the Garden kept everyone on the edge of their seats, never seeming like a reality until the final horn eventually quieted the crowd.
And that's because lately, the Islanders (10-19-7) have done little but find new and more horrifying ways to lose. Yet they finally got their first regulation win since Nov. 14 against the Bruins, with the intervening 21-game stretch showing a 3-14-4 record that had plummeted them to the basement of the putrid Metropolitan Division.
"Some of the ways that we've been losing, it's tough to explain," coach Jack Capuano said before the game. "Guys know. There is a lot of pride in that room, a lot of character in that room. It's just going to take 60 minutes of consistent effort."
The Rangers (16-18-2) are still fumbling to find any sort of traction, as well, now going 1-4-2 on this nine-game homestand. They had a great chance to tie the game on a power play with under three minutes remaining, but blew it and were buried when Michael Grabner put one into the empty net with 50.3 seconds remaining.
The Islanders had taken the lead early in the third period, when they were on a five-on-three power play as the result of a late second-period interference call on Chris Kreider as well as another interference penalty on Dan Girardi just as the final period started. Kyle Okposo took a long shot from the point that bounced off Thomas Vanek's left leg and gave the Isles a 4-3 lead.
The second period was a flurry of action, as three minutes had passed before Derek Dorsett took a sharp-angle shot that bounced in off Isles defenseman Thomas Hickey to tie the game, 2-2. The Islanders pushed back, but Henrik Lundqvist made great consecutive saves on John Tavares from in close, and then got some help from the crossbar on a shorthanded breakaway by Grabner.
Just seconds later, the Blueshirts were able to wrestle away their first lead in seven games, getting a power-play goal from Derek Stepan after Hickey whiffed on a clearing attempt, making it 3-2.
Then with 11:26 gone by, the Islanders had just finished a horrid-looking man-advantage when the puck came rolling to Brian Strait, who fired a long slap shot that snuck through a screen and passed Lundqvist to tie it, 3-3. It was Strait's first regular-season goal (he had his first career goal in the playoffs last season), and getting the second assist was 20-year-old rookie Ryan Strome, his first NHL point in his third career game.
The rivalry contest started out with both teams being rather conservative, but after 15 minutes of scoreless action things picked up. It started with the Rangers on a power play and Cal Clutterbuck stealing the puck for a short-handed breakaway. Ryan McDonagh came back and made a great stick check — yet was called for a penalty, awarding Clutterbuck a penalty shot, on which he beat Lundqvist glove side to make it 1-0.
Just two minutes later, with the Rangers on another power play, Grabner stole the puck from McDonagh at his blue line and raced away for another short-handed breakaway, this one going in the first time as Grabner made a quick move and slid it around Lundqvist to give the Isles a 2-0 lead.
Still on the man-advantage 30 seconds later, the Rangers answered with a goal from Benoit Pouliot, converting on a great tic-tac-toe effort from Derick Brassard to Kreider, making it 2-1, which is how the period would end.
"Last few games we dug ourselves a hole," Rick Nash said before the game, "and it's tough to climb out against good teams."
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