UNIONDALE, N.Y. — It’s an old cliche, but with these two teams, you really can throw the records out when these archrivals get together.
The Islanders were 15 points ahead of the Rangers in the East Division standings, and they almost never lose at home. But the Rangers have a secret weapon in a rarely used, backup goaltender named Alexandar Georgiev who is Kryptonite to the Islanders.
Still smarting after a humbling loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins 24 hours earlier, the Rangers entered Nassau Coliseum for the first time this season on Friday. And with Georgiev in net, playing his first game in three weeks, the Blueshirts got goals from rookies Alexis Lafreniere and K’Andre Miller, one from journeyman Colin Blackwell, and an empty-netter from Mika Zibanejad and knocked off the Islanders, 4-1' in the opener of the teams’ two-game weekend series.
