Rangers crush fading Islanders as push for playoff spot continues

Jonny B. good and the Islanders’ ship be sinking.

That was, in short, how this Battle of New York with playoff implications for both sides went at UBS Arena on Tuesday night, as Jonny Brodzinski notched two goals and an assist in leading the Rangers to a 5-1 stomping of the Islanders that only adds to the pile of evidence that the latter ought to be selling off parts between now and March 7.

It was not quite as dominant for the Rangers as the scoreline implied, but a blowout win in which they embarrassed their archrivals on their own ice and saw the bottom six put forth a terrific physical effort has a way of quieting down any concerns about the shot count.

“Ton of fun. It kind of felt like back in Hartford a little bit, especially with [Brennan Othmann] and [Matt Rempe] on my wings,” Brodzinski said. “Just a ton of fun. Pretty much played in the O-zone the entire night.”

The standings, in which the Rangers are now tied with Ottawa and two points behind Columbus for the last playoff spot in the East, still paint an uninspiring picture for the Blueshirts.

But at least they are not the Islanders, who sit five back of their rivals and seven back of the Blue Jackets, their season standing on the precipice as Brock Nelson remains unsigned beyond July 1.