Matt Martin puts away a goal in another dominant Islanders’ win over the Rangers.
AP Photo by Kathy Willens/Getty Images

Let the record show that statistics don’t always matter. In tonight’s third Battle Of New York installment of five, the Rangers won on shots-on-goal registering 41 to the Islanders’ 38. It didn’t tell the whole story. When push came to shove, the first place Islanders who took over the Conference lead were superior. They again outclassed their crosstown rivals winning by a 4-1 margin in front of a playoff-like atmosphere at Nassau Coliseum.

It was the Islanders who were the aggressors. They used their size and forecheck to take advantage of some awful turnovers to build a two-goal lead. After a good push by the Rangers at the start, the Long Island hosts took over. They forced the action and continued getting dangerous scoring chances on Henrik Lundqvist, who was brilliant in defeat. He had to deal with more traffic than Jaroslav Halak, who continues to play the role of Billy Smith on the best Islander team since they last played for the Cup.

Without Kyle Okposo, the Isles didn’t miss a beat. They outshot the Rangers 17-10 in a frenetic first period that felt like a series preview. The Blueshirts generated chances but were their own worst enemy with sloppy play leading to Islander dominance in the neutral zone. Most alarming, it was their best players who were victims. Top pair Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi struggled mightily. McDonagh was on for two goals against including a ugly sequence that saw the Ranger captain lying on the ice as Mikhail Grabovski put away a wonderful Josh Bailey set up from Johnny Boychuk at 18:05.

The goal was well deserved. The Isles had been controlling play forcing Lundqvist into a string of difficult saves. If not for the former Vezina winner, this would’ve been over early. They easily could’ve had 4 or 5. That’s how careless the Blueshirts were. That included lazy backchecks from forwards and costly turnovers. Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello had forgettable nights. Neither distinguished themselves and dragged Rick Nash down. As a unit, they went a combined minus-six. It wasn’t by accident.

Once again, the Islanders fourth line struck. Leading by one, Casey Cizikas and Cal Clutterbuck took advantage of dreadful coverage from mismatched third pair Matt Hunwick and Dan Boyle- combining to set up Matt Martin for an easy finish in front. No one covered him including Jesper Fast, who seems lost. Not sure what Alain Vigneault’s fascination is with this guy who gets third line duty over J.T. Miller, who clearly is more noticeable.

The wheels came off when Ryan Strome came down the right side and centered a pass off a Blueshirt past a helpless Lundqvist increasing the Isles’ lead to 3-0 2:11 later. On the play, McDonagh again was caught kneeling. He had one of his worst games. There have been instances where the first-year captain doesn’t look like himself. There have been too many times where he’s gotten beaten. Afterwards, he seemed pretty down and annoyed. That is one way to sum up a frustrating night. Lundqvist admitted that they haven’t played their best as a group yet against the Islanders.

Trailing by three, the Rangers picked it up. Using their speed, they did a better job controlling play. It resulted in two power plays and 18 shots in the second. But Halak was able to see everything. On an early man-advantage, they were too deliberate moving the puck allowing Islander penalty killers to recover and get in passing and shooting lanes. The best chance came from Derek Stepan, whose unscreened one-timer was eaten up by Halak. That is the difference. The Islanders do whatever it takes to make it difficult on Lundqvist while the Rangers haven’t gotten the jersey dirty enough. Halak was good but he never had to deal with a sea of Blueshirts. Unless that changes, it’s hard to see them beating the Isles in the playoffs.

Even as they continued to test Halak in the third, it didn’t matter. He stopped everything. With under 10 minutes left, Islander fans began chanting “You Can’t Beat Us!”

They’re right. As currently comprised, this soft cast of Rangers can’t beat their team. They’re too small and don’t have enough depth or size to match up. You can add defense with how weak Hunwick or John Moore are. Nothing against either. But they’re not sixth defensemen. It’s up to Glen Sather to plug the holes. How he’ll do it remains to be seen.

Islanders Celebrate: The Islanders celebrate Mikhail Grabovski’s goal in the first.
AP Photo by Kathy Willens/Getty Images

Adding insult to injury, John Tavares tricked Lundqvist by looking pass on a power play and then firing one past him for a 4-0 Islanders lead to put a exclamation point on their third straight victory against the Rangers. A brilliant play by one of the best players who has moved into the Hart race. Tavares is up to 22 goals and 46 points on a potential President’s Trophy winner. You better believe he deserves inclusion.

The end of the game saw a bit of edge. Marc Staal didn’t take kindly to a clean hit from Martin. It was a little high. Staal was one of the few Rangers to show up. He was very active on both ends and went back at Martin. Eventually, Tanner Glass stepped in for him leading to matching roughs and misconducts. Exactly what you have Glass in for. He’s not good at much else. Too bad the refs didn’t let them go.

At the very least, the Rangers were finally able to end a long goal drought against Halak. On a power play, Carl Hagelin scored a rare PPG from Fast and Dominic Moore with 10 seconds to spare. Halak banged his goal stick against the cage due to losing the shutout. It was a cheesy way to lose it. Especially in a game he played well in stopping 40 shots while earning the game’s second star.

There’s really not much more to add. Right now, the Islanders are a better team. They’re four lines deep and are bigger and stronger. They know how to play the Rangers and are in their heads. There are two meetings left. One in February and the other in March. Right now, they’re the best team in the Metropolitan Division. They are still three up on the Pens, who won and now seven clear of the Rangers. It won’t get easier for them with the Canadiens visiting MSG Thursday.

NY Puck 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Calvin de Haan, NYI (assist, 4 SOG, 3 hits, 2 blocked shots, +3 in 19:51-developing into shutdown D)

2nd Star-Johnny Boychuk, NYI (2 assists, 4 hits, 6 blocked shots, +2 in 20:58-best defenseman on ice)

1st Star-Matt Martin, NYI (4th of season, 12 PIM, 7 hits, +1 in 19 shifts-15:08-4th liner with real impact)