The Upshot: The Islanders do it again; stun Rangers 4-3 with another third-period comeback

HOW IT HAPPENED

For the second consecutive night, the New York Islanders rallied from down two goals in the third period, this time stunning the New York Rangers 4-3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night. Adam Pelech scored just 14 seconds into the third period to pull within one, and Brock Nelson scored on the power-play to tie the game at 12:46. The Isles took the lead on an Anders Lee goal at 14:30 and held on for the win.

Semyon Varlamov made 37 saves, and Kyle Palmieri had a goal for the Isles (9-5-0) who have won seven of eight. Igor Shesterkin had 22 saves for the Rangers (6-5-3), who received goals from Vincent Trocheck, Chris Kreider, and Filip Chytil.

WHAT WENT RIGHT

The team showed their resilience once again. It's a special trait to be the type of team that is really never out of a hockey game, and the Islanders have instilled that in their 2022-23 DNA. "This is a veteran group," Anders Lee said. "This group has been through a lot, and so a two-goal deficit going into the third, [there's] nothing to lose, but an opportunity to have a great 20 minutes. We'll take that."

WHAT WENT WRONG

For the fifth straight game, the Islanders allowed a power-play goal. The penalty kill, aided by Ilya Sorokin was outstanding through the first nine games but has faltered over the last week against some of the top power-play units in the league.

The Rangers scored two PP goals in the second period, and the Isles took four penalties in the first half of the game. The Isles need to stay out of the box and get back to finding their way on the PK.

STATS OF THE GAME

Filip Chytil tied the game at 11:36 of the first period, which ended Semyon Varlamov's MSG shutout streak at a remarkable 251:36. Varlamov had shutout the Rangers the four consecutive games prior to tonight. He didn't get the shutout but did make 37 saves, including a key one stopping Jimmy Vesey on a breakaway with the Isles trailing 3-2 midway through the third period.

SOCIAL MEDIA MOMENT OF THE GAME

With the Rangers leading 2-1 in the second period, Chris Kreider came as close as you possibly can to scoring his second of the game. The Rangers celebrated on the ice, but the refs didn't call it a goal on the ice, and a relatively long video review initiated by The Situation Room determined the puck did not completely cross the goal line.

WHAT'S NEXT?

The Islanders take on the Arizona Coyotes on Thursday night at UBS Arena.

Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.