The Islanders acquired the 34-year-old forward from the New Jersey Devils along with a third-round pick in the 2026 NHL Draft and a sixth-round pick in the 2027 NHL Draft for forward Maxim Tsyplakov on Tuesday.
Simon Holmstrom had a goal and two assists, and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a goal and an assist for the Islanders (29-19-5), who have won two straight games. David Rittich made 13 saves.
Carson Soucy had two shots on goal in 16:38 of ice time in his Islanders debut. The Islanders sent the Rangers a 2026 third-round pick for the defenseman on Monday.
Mika Zibanejad and Taylor Raddysh scored for the Rangers (22-26-6), who are 2-8-1 in their past 11 games. Spencer Martin made 31 saves.
The two teams face off again on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Palat gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead on the power play at 14:59 of the first period. Holmstrom found him in the bumper spot for a one-time finish glove side on Martin.
Holmstrom made it 2-0 at 16:10. Pageau won an offensive-zone draw back to Tony DeAngelo at the right point before he found Holmstrom cutting to the back slot for a tap-in.
Zibanejad cut the Rangers’ deficit to 2-1 at 18:04 of the first period while on the power play. J.T. Miller, stationed in the right face-off circle, found Zibanejad deep in the left face-off circle for a one-time finish.
Emil Heineman hit the crossbar on a 5-on-3 power play at 10:27 of the second period, but Mathew Barzal gave the Islanders a 3-1 lead at 13:12 on the ensuing 5-on-4 power play. Holmstrom fed Barzal inside the left face-off circle for a one-time finish.
Pageau scored 46 seconds later to give the Islanders a 4-1 lead at 13:59 when he knocked home a loose puck in the low slot after Marc Gatcomb’s wrist shot produced a rebound.
Raddysh scored at 15:42 to cut the Rangers’ deficit to 4-2. He cut to the front of the net and snuck a wrist shot past Rittich.
Heineman beat Martin high glove side from the slot off a feed from Adam Pelech at 19:12 of the second period to make it 5-2.
