• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Islanders 3-0 after blowing out Rangers

Oct 15, 2014 - 2:56 AM New York, NY (SportsNetwork.com) - The New York Islanders rode a flurry of goals to their best start in 13 years.

Kyle Okposo's 100th career goal came during an outburst in the third period that boosted the Islanders to a 6-3 win over the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.

The Islanders scored five consecutive goals, including three in the first 5:20 of the third period, and are 3-0 for the first time since winning their first four games in 2001.

Jaroslav Halak made 40 saves, including 20 in the second period to keep the Islanders in the game. Johnny Boychuk, John Tavares, Brock Nelson, Mikhail Grabovski and Nick Leddy also scored in the win.

Rick Nash remained hot, scoring his fifth and sixth goals of the season to become the first Rangers player ever to find the net in the first four games of the season. Derick Brassard added a goal and Henrik Lundqvist gave up six goals on 27 shots in the Rangers' third straight loss.

The Islanders, who swept Carolina in a home-and-home on Friday and Saturday, tied the game for a second time on Tavares' one-timer 15:03 into the second period, which came after Rangers defenseman Michael Kostka turned the puck over to Nikolay Kulemin.

Okposo's goal also came after a Rangers turnover just 48 seconds into the third, giving the Islanders the lead.

Nelson scored on a one-timer in the slot at 4:50 and Grabovski got a fluke goal 30 seconds later when his attempted pass to Nelson hit off the stick of Rangers defenseman Kevin Klein and went past Lundqvist.

"We started getting pucks on net," said Islanders coach Jack Capuano. "Say what you want about how many goals we scored, (Lundqvist) didn't have a chance on a lot of those shots."

Leddy's goal at 10:59 gave the Islanders a 6-2 lead.

Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh said the third-period collapse came out of nowhere after his team peppered Halak with 21 shots in the second.

"We felt good energy (in the locker room) and good preparation, talked a lot of good things," McDonagh said. "It's just a case where one mistake kind of bundled into a handful."

Nash scored with 2:10 remaining. Earlier, he was working against defenseman Thomas Hickey when he scored his first goal on a sharp-angle backhand from the right side 6:21 into the game. The puck somehow snuck through Halak's pads as the Islanders goalie was squeezed against the post.

Boychuk's slap shot from inside the blue line on a power play beat Lundqvist 4:10 later to tie the score.

The Rangers' 21 shots in the second period included Brassard's goal from in close at 3:50, which was set up by Chris Kreider's pass from behind the net.

Game Notes

Ryan Strome had two assists for the Islanders and Okposo and Grabovski each added a helper ... The Islanders are home against San Jose on Thursday and the Rangers continue a four-game homestand against Carolina, also on Thursday.