Islanders beat Rangers in battle for Big Apple supremacy

Jaroslav Halak's 27 saves and a dominant second period kept the Islanders the toast of New York, as the current Metropolitan Division leaders dealt the crosstown rival Rangers a 3-0 defeat at Madison Square Garden.

Anders Lee, Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen all lit the lamp during the middle session to help the Islanders close out a season-high seven-game road trip with five wins and remain ahead of Pittsburgh for the division lead.

The Rangers entered Tuesday's anticipated showdown with victories in 13 of their previous 14 games, but couldn't maintain the momentum as Halak outplayed Henrik Lundqvist and the Isles finished with a 44-27 advantage in shots.

Lundqvist was replaced by Cam Talbot at the start of the third period after stopping 29-of-32 chances.

[SportsNetwork.com]