Recap: Islanders 2, Rangers 1

The New York Islanders ended their home schedule on a positive note on Thursday, beating the New York Rangers 2-1 at Barclays Center.
Brooklyn has been a secret weapon of the Islanders' recent success against the Rangers, as the Isles improved to 6-0-0 vs their crosstown rivals at Barclays Center. The win was the Islanders seventh straight over the Blueshirts and 11th in their last 12 matchups.

"For our fans, for a season that we've felt we let them down, this was the last home game and it's nice to play a rival group and win in front of them," said Thomas Hickey.
After falling behind 1-0 early, Hickey and Anthony Beauvillier scored goals 2:32 apart to put the Islanders ahead 2-1. Beauvillier's goal held up as the game-winner. Jaroslav Halak made 34 saves.

HALAK CONTINUES RUN VS RANGERS:

Halak continued his dominance over the Rangers on Thursday, turning aside 34 shots to improve to 11-3-0 against the Rangers since the start of the 2014-15 season.
After Kevin Hayes potted a rebound for a power-play goal early in the first, Halak held the fort, turning aside 27 shots over the final 40 minutes. He was especially good in the second period, robbing Paul Carey on a cross-crease feed.
"The numbers are eye-opening. It's not just a good roll, but he gets up for those games," Head Coach Doug Weight said of Halak. "He competes and finds a way to beat them."
To top it off, Halak took a shot at the empty Rangers' net, missing by about six feet, which is pretty close for a goalie.

BEAUVILLIER SCORES AGAIN:

Anthony Beauvillier has found the back of the net for a fifth straight game - an Islanders season high.
Beauvillier buried a give-and-go with Andrew Ladd at 7:27 of the second period, potting his 21st goal of the season.

TAVARES ON THE FANS:

As Thursday's game wound down, the crowd at Barclays Center began chanting for John Tavares.
Tavares is in the last year of his contract and while his future has yet to be determined, fans took the opportunity to thank their captain, just in case.
"I heard some of the chants at the end of the game, which was really nice by our fans," Tavares said. "It's been amazing being here for as long as I have been, I've been treated great. These are some of the most proud and passionate fans in our league. I really appreciated that."
Tavares said he wanted to treat this like any other game and finish the season before making any decisions about his future.
"I've been treated very well since day one," Tavares said. "They've always stuck by me and been really proud to have me here and made it a lot easier for me to grow into the player and person that I am. I'm appreciative of that. I'm not trying to look at it as if it's the end because obviously that hasn't been determined. I've always wanted it to work out and stay, so that's still what I hope transpires. That will come in the coming time ahead. I just want to finish the season and keep my focus there. Certainly the support has always been fantastic."

STAN'S LAST STAND:

Thursday's game was a tribute to the legendary career of Stan Fischler, who's been a part of the Islanders telecasts since 1975 and covered the sport since 1954.
Fischler was presented with a silver stick and a team autographed jersey before the game, dropped the ceremonial first puck and had numerous tributes throughout the night on the scoreboard and the broadcast.
After the game, Weight used his coach's podium to deliver a heartfelt thanks to Stan, who officially retired after the postgame press conference.