The key things that went wrong for the New York Islanders vs the New York Rangers

The Isles’ mental game fell apart in the third

After playing a solid 50 minutes or so, the Isles seemed to come completely unhinged in the last 10 minutes of the third. In particular, the last four minutes or so destroyed the New York Islanders' mental game.

With the net empty, Zac Jones blasted a shot from the top of the circle, beating Henrik Tikkanen. In hindsight, it’s a save that Tikkanen should have made. But then again, the sloppy line change led to Engvall and Scott Mayfield getting burned as the fresh troops tried to get back into the play.

The tying goal was a total misplay as the entire team left Chris Kreider completely alone on the right side. The Rangers got the puck to Kreider and he didn’t miss.

But perhaps the go-ahead goal by the Rangers was the worst one of all. The Isles failed to win the draw in their own zone. As the puck returned to the point, Adam Edstrom tipped the shot in front. This goal falls on Cholowski again as he was unable to tie up Edstrom in front of the net, allowing Edstrom to walk in and redirect the shot.

As for the empty netter, well, that was just the icing on the cake for the Isles.

Henrik Tikkanen buckled under the pressure

Semyon Varlamov was perfect through 29:51 minutes of ice time. He made ten saves to keep the Isles well in control.

However, Tikkanen completely faltered, giving up five goals on 13 shots. It was evident that Tikkanen had lost the handle on the game after the Jones goal. Tikkanen looked flustered, dashing from side to side looking for the puck.

The Rangers saw that and exploited it.

It’s too bad for the young goaltender who has most likely sealed his fate following his game. It wouldn’t be a surprise to see him among the next wave of roster cuts. Hopefully, Tikkanen can bounce back in the minors and get back on track.

Nevertheless, it’s worth pointing out that his team did leave him out to dry. So, it’s worth pondering: If Ilya Sorokin or Semyon Varlamov had been in goal, would the Rangers have come back? Not likely. They could have made the game close, but not come all the way back.

Anyhow, we’ll never know for sure.