Rangers 6, Islanders 5
Defenseman Kevin Klein scored with 4:32 remaining in the third period as the Rangers overcame three separate two-goal deficits to cap a perfect four-game road trip.
Captain Ryan McDonagh recorded his first career two-goal performance and Derek Stepan recorded a tally and two assists for the Rangers, who presented Alain Vigneault with his 501st coaching victory - tying Pat Burns for 19th place on the all-time list. Chris Kreider scored and set up a goal, Martin St. Louis tallied for the first time in 16 games and added an assist and Klein also set up a score as the Rangers have amassed a staggering 22 goals in their last four contests.
Ryan Strome scored twice, Frans Nielsen collected a goal and an assist and captain John Tavares tallied 11 seconds into the contest for the Islanders, who saw their four-game winning streak come to an end and fell to 11-1-0 at home against Metropolitan Division rivals. Defenseman Johnny Boychuk also scored and Jaroslav Halak turned aside 36 shots as he remained one victory shy of matching the franchise record of 32, shared by Billy Smith (1981-82), Chris Osgood (2001-02) and Rick DiPietro (2006-07).
After the Rangers erased a 3-1 deficit by scoring twice in 23 seconds, Strome gave the Islanders their third two-goal lead of the contest by tapping home a loose puck at 7:41 of the second period and converting a 3-on-1 rush against Cam Talbot (38 saves) at 3:43 of the third. Stepan deposited Kreider's nifty backhand feed less than three minutes later and St. Louis forged a tie at 8:02 before Derick Brassard's circle-to-circle pass set up Klein, who wristed a shot from the right dot that sailed inside the left post to give the Rangers their first lead of the contest.
Boychuk came off the bench and blasted a shot from the blue line that beat Talbot at 1:20 of the second period to give the Islanders a 3-1 advantage. Kreider's bullet from the left faceoff circle at 3:07 trimmed the deficit and McDonagh knotted things shortly thereafter as his shot from the point deflected off the stick of Islanders defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky and past Halak.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Islanders jumped ahead early as Talbot misfired on his attempt to pass the puck from behind the net to McDonagh, and Tavares wired a sharp-angle shot from below the right circle into the gaping cage. ... Rangers rookie RW Kevin Hayes notched an assist on McDonagh's second goal, extending his point streak to six games. ... Rangers LW Lee Stempniak notched his 200th career assist on McDonagh's first goal.