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 Adding a capable goaltender, strengthening the defense and
stressing fundamentals has helped the surprising renew hopes for a
franchise that dominated the NHL with a run of four straight Stanley
Cups from 1980.
Long gone are the glory days of Hall of Famers Denis Potvin, Bryan
Trottier, Mike Bossy, Clark Gillies and Billy Smith. Short on star
power, these Islanders are long on team play.
"We said from the beginning of the year, you have to make a
commitment to defense, you got to make a commitment to play away
from the puck," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said after Tuesday's
3-0 win gave them a one-point lead in the East.
"It’s a defense first mentality and that’s not going to change. You
want to make sure that you protect the middle of the ice. We stress
it all year long that our goaltending will give us a chance if we do
that."
 Jaroslav Halak, who split last season between Washington and St.
Louis before replacing the Isles' ineffective Evgeni Nabokov, made
27 saves for his fourth shutout of the season.
It was the first time the Islanders, in the playoffs once in the
last seven years, blanked the host Rangers at the Garden since Smith
did it by the same score 40 years ago.
"It’s a big game, big rivalry for our team," Halak said.
The Czech goalie has been helped by new defensemen Johnny Boychuk
and Nick Leddy, while the offense has benefited from free agents
Mikhail Grabovski and Nikolay Kulemin.
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"Everybody’s contributing to our team, from our fourth line to our
first line," Boychuk said. "Good hits, good hard work, good skill
and good speed. Combine that all in one and that’s our team."
The Rangers had been red-hot, winning 13 of 14 and were coming off a
three-game California sweep.
"We got outskated, outbattled in our zone, said Rangers captain Ryan
McDonagh. "We were the slower team."
Last year's Stanley Cup runners-up slipped to 24-11-4, fourth in the
division.
Top scorer John Tavares typified the Islanders attitude. "We expect
to win," he said. "We know we can be good if we play at the level
that we can."
(Editing by Frank Pingue)
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