Ladd helps Islanders earn two crucial points
NEW YORK -- Andrew Ladd scored a power-play goal with 7:22 remaining in the third period as the New York Islanders rallied for a crucial 3-2 victory against the New York Rangers on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Ladd's 20th goal -- he had two in his first 24 games -- came off a setup from Anders Lee after the Rangers' Michael Grabner was whistled for shooting the puck into the stands from inside his own zone 1:09 earlier.
Goaltender Thomas Greiss made 34 saves to move the Islanders to within two points of the Boston Bruins for the final wild-card spot in the East.
Lee and Nikolay Kulemin had the other goals for the Islanders (34-26-12).
Mats Zuccarello and Rick Nash scored for the Rangers, who received 25 saves from Antti Raanta.
The Rangers (45-25-4) lost their seventh straight (0-5-2) at home.
Mika Zibanejad did all the heavy lifting on Zuccarello's goal that gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 2:46 of the second period. Zibanejad moved down low and took a pass from Derek Stepan with Islanders forward Jason Chimera on his back. After falling to the ice, Zibanejad swept the puck into the crease for Zuccarello, who slid the puck into the yawning net for a power-play goal.
Lee tied the game 1-1 only 54 seconds later. Anthony Beauvillier backhanded a shot off the right leg of Raanta, creating a rebound on the other side of the ice. Lee gathered it and stashed it home before Raanta to get across.
Nash put the Rangers back ahead 2-1 at 6:36 when he stepped around Islanders defenseman Thomas Hickey at the blue line, cut to the middle and wristed a shot that glanced off Greiss and into the net for Nash's 20th goal of the season.
Kulemin brought the Islanders into a 2-2 tie at 5:01 of the third period with a power-play goal. It was the result of two lucky bounces as Joshua Ho-Sang whipped the puck toward the front of the net, where it deflected off the skate of Beauvillier, then the skate of Kulemin and into the net.
NOTES: Islanders D Johnny Boychuk, out since March 3 with a lower-body injury, is close to returning, coach Doug Weight said. ... Islanders RW Ryan Strome left the game during the second with an upper-body injury and did not return. ... Islanders Dennis Seidenberg (fatigue) did not play. ... Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, who missed his seventh straight game with a hip injury, is expected to play in two of the Rangers' three games on an upcoming road trip that begins Saturday in Los Angeles. ... Rangers RW Pavel Buchnevich (undisclosed) did not play. He was replaced by LW Tanner Glass.