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NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 07: Shane Prince #11 of the New York Islanders (r) celebrates his goal at 13:28 of the second period against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 7, 2016 in New York City. The Islanders defeated the Rangers 4-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
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For the first time in the 44-year history of their cross-borough battles, the New York Islanders swept a season series from the New York Rangers, completing the broom act with a 4-1 win at MSG on Thursday night.
“Yeah, that’s what they said,” said coach Jack Capuano when asked about the feat. “We’ve had some luck against teams this year. You can’t put a finger on why that happens.”
Luck’s a funny thing. One might consider it lucky to finish in the No. 3 seed in the Atlantic Division and shuffle the Rangers down to the wild card – a possibility, now that the Islanders matched the Rangers in points, thanks to 36 saves from goalie Thomas Griess – and have two games remaining against the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday and the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday, both at home.
Then again, some might consider it unlucky to face the streaking Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs rather than the Florida Panthers, against whom the first wild card will play.
Just don’t try to tell the Islanders they’d be better off leaving points on the table.
“We’re not going to take a single night off,” said winger Casey Cizikas, who scored the Isladners’ second goal. “We want to win every game. We want that momentum as we go into the playoffs. Be at the peak of our game. Knowing what it takes to be successful, and playing that way.”
Capuano said the only lineup changes you’ll see from the Islanders will be the ones necessitated by injuries. “If guys need time, we’re going to give it to them,” he said.
Otherwise, the Islanders are gunning for wins at the end of the season, not postseason seeding.
“That’s not the way we prepare. We have a lot of character guys,” said Capuano.
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