Islanders end Rangers' six-game winning streak

NEW YORK -- Andrew Ladd scored two goals and John Tavares had two assists to help the New York Islanders to a 4-2 win against the New York Rangers at Barclays Center on Thursday.
Anders Lee and Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Islanders (26-20-10), who are 8-0-2 in their past 10 home games. Thomas Greiss made 25 saves.

The victory moved the Islanders within one point of the Toronto Maple Leafs for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
WATCH: All Rangers vs. Islanders highlights
"We're playing meaningful hockey," said Ladd, who has six goals in his past 10 games. "We've done a good job of putting ourselves back in a position where these games mean as much as they do. As players, I think it's fun to play in these games. They're easy to get up for and we're bringing it every night."
Nick Holden and Jimmy Vesey scored, and Brady Skjei had two assists for the Rangers (37-19-1), who had won six in a row. Henrik Lundqvist made 19 saves.
"We just had a hard time making plays in their end tonight," Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. "I think you've got to give the opposition credit. They played a good game. We seem to be having issues in this building right now. Nothing we can do about that; we've got to get ready for our next game."

Holden gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead 6:23 into the game. Skjei caught the Islanders on a bad line change and sent a long pass up the left wing to Mats Zuccarello, who sent a cross-ice feed to Holden for a one-timer past Greiss.
Lee tied it with his 22nd goal of the season 2:43 into the second period. Josh Bailey took a pass from Tavares at the right circle and quickly fed Lee at the far post to make it 1-1. Ladd put the Islanders in front with his 13th goal at 6:24.
Kulemin scored his first shorthanded goal of the season at 3:03 of the third period but Vesey got the Rangers back within one 43 seconds later when he poked a loose puck in front of the crease past Greiss for a power-play goal to make it 3-2. The Islanders used a coach's challenge for goalie interference, but the goal stood.
Ladd sealed it for the Islanders with an empty-net goal with 1:10 remaining.

Goal of the game

The Islanders looked to be in trouble when Bailey received a four-minute penalty for high-sticking Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh with nine seconds left in the second period. But Tavares worked relentlessly for possession near the goal post and fed Kulemin in front to make it 3-1. "To say that was a relentless shift by those two would be an understatement," Islanders coach Doug Weight said. "It's leadership, it really is, not being denied. It was big."

Save of the game

Greiss preserved the Islanders' one-goal lead when he managed to get his pad on Chris Kreider's one-timer after Zuccarello fed him from behind the net with 2:06 remaining.

Highlight of the game

Stephen Gionta chased down and stripped defenseman Marc Staal of the puck behind the Rangers net and sent it in front to Ladd, who shot it past Lundqvist to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead.

Unsung performance of the game

Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield made his way back into the lineup for the first time since Jan. 31 and did a solid job of containing the Rangers' speedy forwards. Mayfield blocked three shots in 15:48.

They said it

"It's a hard job for [the officials]. It's not a black-and-white rule. We can disagree, then you've got to move on. You've got to win a game. Agree to disagree, you've got to get by it. I've been married 20 years." -- Islanders coach Doug Weight on Jimmy Vesey's goal
"That was embarrassing, seven goals, 7-1 [at Toronto on Tuesday]. We had to have a response, and we did that really nice tonight." -- Islanders forward Anders Lee
"We had a stretch in the second where they came hard, and we made it a little tough on ourselves, a couple of turnovers that cost us. Overall, it's a good game. I feel like the third [goal] is a killer, on our own power play. Sometimes, when you're the extra man, you might rely on someone else to do the job, and I think that's what happens. We didn't communicate enough in front of the net because we had the guys back, we just didn't sort it out." -- Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist

Need to know

Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein was unable to play because of an illness. He was replaced by Adam Clendening. … It was Tavares' 12th multipoint game of the season. … The Islanders are 4-0-0 at home against the Rangers since moving to Barclays Center last season.

What's next

Rangers: Host the Washington Capitals on Sunday (12:30 p.m. ET; NBC, NHL.TV)
Islanders: At the New Jersey Devils on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, MSG+, NHL.TV)