Varlamov becomes first for Islanders to shut out Rangers twice in season

NEW YORK -- Semyon Varlamov made 30 saves to become the first New York Islanders goalie with two shutouts against the New York Rangers in the same season in a 2-0 win at Madison Square Garden on Monday.

Islanders coach Barry Trotz got his 850th win as coach to pass Ken Hitchcock for third in NHL history behind Scotty Bowman (1,244) and Joel Quenneville (931).
"It's on 'Varly,'" Trotz said. "Varly was huge for us tonight."
The Islanders got their offense from their fourth line, with Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin scoring 2:05 apart in the third period. Martin had an assist on Cizikas' goal.

"We're keeping our game simple and we're playing to our strengths, that's creating chances for us and it's turning into success for our line," Cizikas said. "The way we're playing and the way we're jelling right now, it's a good feeling and definitely something to build off."
Varlamov made 24 saves in a 4-0 win at the Garden on Jan. 14, the season opener for each team, giving him 54 saves in back-to-back shutouts against the Rangers after he allowed 13 goals on 91 shots (.857 save percentage) in three games against them last season.
Jaroslav Halak is the only other goalie in Islanders history to have two shutouts against the Rangers in the regular season (Jan. 13, 2015, and Feb. 15, 2018). Billy Smith had one in the regular season (Dec. 17, 1975) and one in the Stanley Cup Playoffs (April 15, 1983).
The Islanders (5-4-2) have won two in a row and are on a four-game point streak (2-0-2).
"We're collecting points and it's all that matters at this point," Varlamov said. "I'm excited we won today. Huge win for us. That was a big win."
Igor Shesterkin made 28 saves for the Rangers (4-5-2), who were 3-0-1 in their previous four games.
"I didn't think we played fast enough offensively; I thought we really allowed them to stay in their structure, which they're very good at," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "It's 0-0 going into the third, and I thought we had some great chances in the third period before they made it 1-0, we just couldn't capitalize."

Varlamov made a glove save against Artemi Panarin on a low shot on a breakaway at 1:57 of the third period.
Eighty seconds later, he kept the game 0-0 again by going into his butterfly technique to make a save on Mika Zibanejad, who kept the puck and shot it low on a 2-on-1 rush with Chris Kreider.
"When you're facing these shots against the biggest players in the League and you make the save, it gives you some boost," Varlamov said. "You want to make that save. I thought those were key saves in this game. We needed those saves."
The Islanders got some life from them, Martin and Trotz each said.
"Our bench sort of perked up at that point, and the next couple lines went out there and I think they started to change the momentum a little bit," Trotz said.
It worked because Cizikas gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 11:15, swiping a loose puck into the net.
Adam Pelech got the puck on a giveaway by Libor Hajek and quickly shot it. Martin got a touch on it in the slot before Cizikas put it in.

Martin scored from the slot at 13:20 to make it 2-0, redirecting a centering pass from Cal Clutterbuck out of the corner.
"It was a 1-on-4 and we just did not play it well," Quinn said. "Clutterbuck is in the corner, we vacate the middle, our backchecker stops backchecking. I think everybody assumed somebody else was going to do something. It was a poor read."
The Rangers were 0-for-3 on the power play. The Islanders were 0-for-1.
"We were a half-step slow," Kreider said. "We needed to raise the pace. We can't play at their pace. We have to play that much quicker to allow ourselves to make plays and get going north and get more pucks to the net instead of just laying it in corners and just playing that grind it out style."
Trotz initially didn't want to talk about his personal milestone win, but when pressed he admitted he was humbled by it.
"I do feel a little bit out of place because I have the admiration for not only 'Hitch' and some of the people that I have passed, but also some people ahead," Trotz said. "I look up at those people because I admire what they've done for their teams and I really don't look at myself a whole lot, so that's why it seems a little bit awkward sometimes."
NOTES:Trotz is 850-622-153 with 60 ties in 1,685 NHL games in 22 seasons with the Islanders, Washington Capitals and Nashville Predators. … Varlamov is the second Islanders goalie with three shutouts before his 10th game in a season. (Tommy Salo, 1998-99). Each did it in eight games. … Varlamov has 30 NHL shutouts. … Rangers forward Ryan Strome had his four-game point streak end (three goals, two assists).