Semyon Varlamov Owns the Rangers Lately

In Friday Night's Feature matchup, the Islanders absolutely dominated the Rangers at MSG. The Rangers did not generate much of anything tonight as the Islanders Islander-ed.

It started off with a great individual effort by Ryan Pulock, who found the stick of savvy veteran Casey Cizikas for an easy tap in. After stifling the Rangers' already inconsistent offense, the Isles' star center Mat Barzal found Matt Martin of all people, who did his part & buried one on Igor Shesterkin. How many people saw that coming tonight? Barzal would keep the energy alive with a beautiful goal in the 3rd period that would put the game on ice.

However, the game's MVP was Isles' G Semyon Varlamov. He slammed the door shut with authority. He stopped 27 of 27 for yet another shutout against the Rangers. Crazy stat alert:

The Islanders are cooking in recent weeks after a miserable start to the season. They are 10-3-1 in their last 14 games & do have a chance at catching WSH for the second wild card playoff spot, albeit not a good one.

The Rangers have had a good season, but there are lots of questions re: how likely they are to win in the playoffs. NYR is a team with a handful of glaring weaknesses. First & foremost, they have immense trouble scoring 5v5. So, if their powerplay isn't clicking they aren't scoring. Furthermore, if G Igor Shesterkin isn't playing at a Vezina-level, they lose a lot. Tough to bet on them, but we shall see.

This Friday Night Feature lived up to the hype, as the NYR-NYI rivalry always does.

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