NEW YORK _ As John Tavares goes, so go the Islanders. At least that's how it's supposed to go.
That wasn't the case on Wednesday night _ and lucky for the Islanders. Tavares struggled through one of his toughest nights in ages, taking three penalties in the first two periods as the Isles fell behind.
But with a pair of third-period power-play goals, one with an assist from the captain, the Isles rallied and held on for dear life to grab two enormous points with the 3-2 win over the Rangers.
It would be hard to recall a game in which Tavares had more minors than shots on goal, but that was the case in Madison Square Garden. A mistake-filled second period gave way to a third in which the Islanders got a couple good bounces and a superb effort from Thomas Greiss moved the Islanders to within two points of the Bruins for the last playoff spot in the East.
Anthony Beauvillier was the standout center for the Islanders, with Tavares and Brock Nelson struggling all night and Ryan Strome gone after the second with an upper-body injury. Beauvillier had two assists, one on a puck off his skate that also caromed off Nikolay Kulemin's skate and in to tie the game at 5:01 of the third.
The sight of Tavares skating slowly to the penalty box at the 8:28 mark of the middle period, jawing at one of the officials after a pretty clear leg-sweep on Rick Nash in the Rangers zone, was not one the Islanders wanted to behold.
This was yet another must-have game for the Islanders, the sort when they need their captain to take charge, not take repeated trips to the box. Yet there he was in the second, going off for his third minor of the night and looking frustrated beyond belief that he was doing more to hurt than help his team's playoff push.
The Islanders killed that one off, unlike the previous minor, when Tavares hooked Nash off the puck in front of the Rangers net to give Josh Bailey an open look and force a call. Tavares was also whistled for kicking Mika Zibanejad's legs out in the first period.
Tavares, Nelson and Strome have been the top two or three centers in the Isles rotation most of the season. Nelson had a miserable night equal to Tavares', taking a bad offensive-zone penalty less than a minute into the third and then whiffing on two tries from dangerous areas in the third.
And Strome didn't even make it to the third period, leaving in serious pain in the final minutes of the second after getting his right arm caught awkwardly between his body and Brady Skjei's on a hit. He raced to the bench and then the Isles dressing room before the second.
