*Photo from Theday.com*
This was a rivalry game that was action packed and did not disappoint. Kyle Palmieri scored twice, Adam Pelech had two assists, and the New York Islanders defeated the New York Rangers with a 3-0 shutout victory on Wednesday night on Long Island.
Returning home after losing 3 straight games, the Islanders played one of their better games of the season, improving their record to 3-4-0 in the first 7 games. The Islanders beat the Rangers for the first time at UBS arena on Wednesday, with the Rangers having won both times last season. Palmieri led the attack with two goals.
Islanders forward Josh Bailey said of the game that "Against your rivals at home, you feel that extra boost and feels a little more like a playoff-type atmosphere. It'd be a little more tighter checking, and that's what it felt like out there."
The first period went scoreless, and so did the first 8 minutes of the second period. Palmieri got the Islanders on the board, scoring his first goal of the season 8:44 into the period, with Ryan Pulock and Jean-Gabriel Pageau getting the assists. The score became 1-0 Islanders after two periods of play.
In the 3rd period, the Islanders built on their lead. Bailey struck first, tallying his first goal of the season 5:37 into the final period, with Pelech and Mathew Barzal assisting on the goal. A little under 10 minutes later, Palmieri delivered again, notching his second of the game at the 15:22 mark of the 3rd, making it a 3-0 final score.
Palmieri said of his two goal game that "It always feels good. There were some things that we liked about our game over the weekend and maybe didn't get rewarded for it, but this one's obviously always a big one, especially at home. So, it felt really good to beat those guys."
New number one goalie Ilya Sorokin got the start in net for the Islanders, and he did a sensational job. Sorokin got the win to improve his record to 2-3-0 on the season, but he stopped all 41 shots he faced from the Rangers while doing so. It's Sorokin's 11th career shutout after posting 7 of them last season, tying the Islanders single season record.
Rangers backup Jaroslav Halak got the start on the second end of a back to back, and couldn't contain the Islanders. Halak got the loss to drop to 0-3-0 on the season, saving 26 out of the 29 shots he saw from the Islanders, which was good for a .897 save percentage.
Rangers alternate captain Mika Zibanejad said of the Rangers latest loss that "Every team goes through it throughout the year at some point. Our tough stretch is right now. Just got to work through this. We have no other choice. If I know this team, and I think I do, we’re not going to lay down and die."
Up next, the Islanders get back in action with a Friday night road matchup with the Carolina Hurricanes, with Sorokin back between the pipes. Igor Shesterkin will start for the Rangers on Saturday afternoon against the Dallas Stars.
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