NEW YORK — Barry Trotz praised the Islanders’ overall cohesion, aggressive defensive play and, of course, Semyon Varlamov’s 25-save performance for his NHL-leading sixth shutout, second in a row and third at Madison Square Garden this season.
But with time running short for the coach to settle on a lineup and find some consistent goal production, Trotz also may have found the right combinations in Thursday night’s dominant-in-every-facet, 4-0, win over the Rangers to open the home-and-home series.
"It doesn’t hurt," Trotz said. "It was a bit of it, but I don’t think it was all of it. It was our mindset. We weren’t scared of the event. A lot of people were poking holes at the Islanders the last couple of days because we didn’t get it done against the Caps. But this is a proud group. They knew what was on the line and they played that way."
