Varlamov, Islanders shut out Rangers

Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves for the New York Islanders in a 3-0 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Friday.

It was Varlamov's second shutout this season and fourth straight against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden. He has started all three games this week with Ilya Sorokin out with an upper-body injury, including making 30 saves in a 5-2 win against the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday.
Mathew Barzal had a goal and an assist to reach 300 NHL points, and Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin also scored for the Islanders (31-27-9), who have won three in a row and five of their past seven.
The Islanders are 13 points behind the Washington Capitals for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with one game in hand.
"We don't like them. They don't like us," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We capitalized on our chances and limited them on the chances. When they did have some chances, I thought [Varlamov] was really sharp, as he's been in this building a lot the last few years."

Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves for the Rangers (44-20-5), who had won four straight and remained one point ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins for second in the Metropolitan Division.
"Looked like we were skating in quicksand all night," Rangers coach Gerard Gallant said. "I mean, you guys see the difference. We move the puck up the ice, we're a pretty good team. We start dancing around a little bit, standing around, turning it over, that's what you get."
Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead on their second shot on goal at 2:40 of the first period. Ryan Pulock intercepted an attempted outlet pass from Braden Schneider at the blue line before skating to the right face-off circle and setting up Cizikas for a tap-in from the edge of the crease.
The goal came 43 seconds after Artemi Panarin hit the crossbar from the left circle.
"We have a good prep going into each game," Cizikas said. "Guys are just buying in when they need to. … We love playing in this arena. We love playing against these guys."

Martin made it 2-0 at 4:48 of the second period, scoring on a snap shot from the right circle following a turnover in the neutral zone by Jacob Trouba. The goal was Martin's third of the season and first since Feb. 9 (24 games).
The Rangers outshot the Islanders 19-12 in the first two periods.
"A little bit of everything," Rangers forward Mika Zibanejad said about what was missing. "Intensity, just playing together, I think, pretty much the way we've been playing all year. Play fast and we're on the same page. We weren't tonight.
"I wish I had the answer. If I had the answer, I don't think it would look like this, obviously. … It's just not acceptable. Obviously, wasn't good enough."
Barzal extended the lead to 3-0 at 2:47 of the third period. After the puck slipped away from Schneider at the Islanders blue line, Oliver Wahlstrom sped through the neutral zone and gained possession before passing to Barzal, who skated in for a backhand.
"Any player that comes into [Madison Square Garden] gets a little more fired up," Barzal said. "It's a fun atmosphere. Aside from that, I think it's just Islander-Ranger rivalry. We want our fans at the end of the day to celebrate after games against them. I think that just fires me and our team up a little bit more."

NOTES:Varlamov is the second goalie in NHL history to have four straight road shutouts against one opponent, joining Alec Connell, who did it for the original Ottawa Senators against the New York Americans from Jan. 11-Dec. 14, 1926. … Rangers forward Ryan Strome missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury. … The Rangers were 0-for-3 on the power play. ... Barzal has six points (two goals, four assists) in his past three games.