"Coming into the game we knew this was going to be a huge game for us," defenseman Brady Skjei said. "We knew the stats behind the game and how they've had our number the last 10 or so games. We came out and generated a lot of shots. Just couldn't put the puck behind the net. Definitely frustrating right now."
While 50 is certainly a big number, goaltender Henrik Lundqvist said he felt the team could have done more to generate more scoring chances.
"A lot of shots. I don't know if we had a lot of chances where we feel like we should have scored on that chance," said Lundqvist, who had 32 saves. "They gave up a lot of shots, but I felt like they were in good position to get the rebounds all the time. And Halak played really well."
The Rangers knew the importance of this game in the scheme of the playoff race in the Eastern Conference. They entered the game a point back of the Islanders, and within striking distance of Columbus and Carolina for the second wild card spot.
The points left on the table only added to the frustration for Lundqvist.
"The last few weeks, slowly we're just moving in the wrong direction here and not getting enough points," he said. "We're trying to work hard here and do the right things."
Josh Bailey put the Islanders ahead 4:53 into the game when he beat Lundqvist top-shelf with the Islanders on a power play.
The Islanders nearly added to the lead on a goal mouth scramble, but the Rangers survived momentarily, only for Jordan Eberle to capitalize on the next rush at 15:06 of the second that ultimately put the game out of reach for the Rangers, and the players felt it instantly.
"I feel like the second period, it's a 1-0 game and we get out of that big scramble," Lundqvist said. "We don't get it deep and they come back and they score the second goal. That felt like the game right there."
Thomas Hickey made it 3-0 when his centering attempted banked in off the skate of David Desharnais and through Lundqvist 3:57 into the third.
The loss of ground in the standings coupled with the continued lack of success against the Islanders made Thursday's loss worse than many others throughout the season.
"All the losses we have this year hurts," Mats Zuccarello said, "but this one really stings."
