By Scott Charles
Jonny Brodzinski scored twice, Urho Vaakanainen had a goal and two assists and the New York Rangers beat the crosstown-rival Islanders 5-1 on Tuesday night.
J.T. Miller and Matt Rempe also scored for the Rangers, who won their second straight. Igor Shesterkin finished with 36 saves.
Alexander Romanov scored for the Islanders, who have lost four straight after winning eight of nine. Ilya Sorokin gave up five goals on 11 shots through two periods. Jakub Skarek came on to start the third period and stopped all seven shots he faced.
Rangers defensemen Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller left the game and did not return.
Brodzinski broke a 1-1 tie midway through the first period and then got his second of the night and sixth of the season ithe closing minute of the opening period to give the Rangers a 3-1 edge.
J.T. Miller, acquired from Vancouver last month, and Rempe tacked on goals in the second period to extend the Rangers lead to 5-1.
Vaakanainen opened the scoring 6:22 into the game but Romanov tied it for the Islanders 1:57 later.
Takeaways
Rangers: The addition of Brennan Othmann to the fourth line might present coach Peter Laviolette an option to play 12 forwards consistently.
Islanders: The four-game losing streak might force Islanders president and general manager Lou Lamoriello to explore scenarios to sell off expiring assets such as Brock Nelson and Kyle Palmieri with the playoffs becoming more out of reach.
Key moment
Brodzinski took advantage of Othmann’s screen in the final minute of the first period to give the Rangers a 3-1 lead. Othmann, a 2021 first-round draft pick, made his season debut with Chris Kreider sidelined with an upper-body injury.
Key stat
The Islanders fell to 8-11-1 against teams in the Metropolitan Division and 13-20-3 when allowing the first goal.
Up next
Rangers host Toronto on Friday to open a four-game homestand, and Islanders visit Boston on Thursday.
