You can never tell how an Islanders – Rangers game will turn out, but there are a couple of trends that were extended last night. The Rangers have now won eight straight home games against the Islanders, dating back to March 24th, 2010 when they beat them 5-0 to start the run.
As for individual performance, Marian Gaborik has now scored goals in five straight games against the Islanders, going back to December 22nd, 2011 when he helped the Rangers to a 4-2 win. He now has 18 goals in as many games against the Rangers rivals, including one hat trick and three two-goal games.
JT Miller became the first Ranger to score more than one goal in his MSG debut since Don Murdoch back in 1976. Murdoch went on to score 32 goals in 59 games that year.
With the win, his fourth of the season, Lundqvist moved to 256 all time, and is now just ten behind Ed Giacomin for second all time on the Rangers list.
Ryan McDonagh registered his first points of the season, with a power play assist on Miller’s second goal and his first career Empty Net Goal.
Darroll Powe picked up his first penalty minutes as a Ranger when he took a minor penalty for holding in the third period.
It was just the second time that Brian Boyle has been a healthy scratch as a Ranger, and the first since November 28th, 2009 when the Rangers were blown out 8-3 by the Penguins.
The win, combined with other results, pushed the Rangers up the standings into a tie with the Hurricanes for 8th spot, moving past the Islander, Jets and Panthers who all lost last night. The team remains six points behind the conference leading Penguins, though they have a game in hand.
The win was just the second against an Atlantic Division team this season, and they now are 2-4 in divisional play.
Miller’s Power Play goal was enough to move the Rangers up from 30th in the league past Boston and Colorado to 28th with a 10.8 percent conversion rate. St Louis leads the league with a 33.3 mark.
Six successful penalty kills moved New York up from 17th to 16th, passing the Kings. They improved from 78.4 to 80.4. The Isles, who had been third, dropped back to fifth.
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