Both teams talked about the most important element of Tuesday night's game being the two points up for grabs in a tight playoff race. So let's leave it at that.
Because if one were to extrapolate from what happened at the Garden, when the first-place Islanders extended their lead in the division over the Rangers with a decisive 3-0 win, well then, one might go ahead and call the Isles the best hockey team in this town.
The Rangers (24-12-4) came in as the hottest team in the league, having won 13 of their previous 14, including the just-completed three-game sweep of the powerhouse teams of California.
But for the Islanders (29-13-1), this was their third win in a row, going 10-3-1 in their last 14 while keeping their lead atop the Metropolitan Division, just ahead of the Penguins, who were one point back when they played host to the Wild Tuesday night.
It was also the fourth shutout of the season for goalie Jaroslav Halak, who was sharp early — and got some help from his goalposts to keep the game scoreless in the first.
Yet, as complete as this outcome was — even chasing Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, having backup Cam Talbot start the third already down 3-0 — it's still January. The Islanders are not planning on getting ahead of themselves.
"This is too early in the season," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said before the game when asked if the game was for city bragging rights. "I know it's a great atmosphere in here, with the media. It's a great measuring stick for us."
Well, for now, measure away.
"Two teams that are playing well, two teams, we both need the points, it's so competitive in our conference," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said Tuesday morning. "Right now, they're the best in our conference and we're looking forward to the matchup."
The Rangers were in quite a different mood come the third period, when Talbot was in net after Vigneault mercifully pulled Lundqvist, who had given up three goals on 32 shots. The final 20 minutes were just playing out the string.
"They've been playing really good hockey and have a lot of depth as well," Isles captain John Tavares said. "We just have to be ready and feed off the energy that the rivalry brings."
Feed off the energy they did, and got most of the heavy lifting done in the second period, scoring three goals in 11 minutes and not exactly quieting the Garden crowd, but certainly changing the tenor of the cheers.
Travis Hamonic delivers a hard check on Chris Kreider during the Islanders' 3-0 win over the Rangers Tuesday night at the Garden.Photo: Getty Images
The first strike came from Anders Lee, who battled Dan Girardi for position in front, and then when Girardi blocked a shot, Lee jumped on the rebound and batted home his 11th of the season for a 1-0 lead at 8:49.
Just under seven minutes later, Rangers forward J.T. Miller gave the puck away in his own end, and the play ended when a bouncing puck came to Nikolay Kulemin and he fired one through traffic — and through a confused Lundqvist — for a 2-0 lead.
Then with only 41 seconds left in the second, it was Derek Stepan, on the power play, giving the puck away to Frans Nielsen, who beat Lundqvist short-side for a shorthanded goal, making it 3-0.
It was only the third shift in the period for Stepan, the Rangers top center, as he seemingly was dealing with an injury that severely limited his availability.
The first period was scoreless, but surely didn't lack action. With about nine minutes left in the period, Isles defenseman Brian Strait turned it over to Rick Nash, who fed Mats Zuccarello, ripping a one-timer that Halak got a piece of before it went off the right post.
And that wasn't all the work for that post in the first, as Nash took advantage of a Johnny Boychuk turnover and went 1-on-2, muscling his way to a shot that found that post.
Most shockingly, the rebound of that one went straight to Derick Brassard, and with the gaping net, he clanked the same iron, inexplicably taking a 0-0 game into the second.
"There is a lot of hype around the game," Capuano had said, "there's no question."
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