NEW YORK (AP) The New York Islanders invariably raise their game against the Rangers. This time they kept that trend – and a winning streak – against their crosstown rivals going with a shutout.Jaroslav Halak had a season-high 50 saves for his first shutout of the season in a 3-0 victory over the Rangers on Thursday night.Halak was masterful as the Islanders beat the Rangers for the third time in three meetings this season Minnesota Wild Hats Womens , and 10th of the last 11. Josh Bailey, Jordan Eberle and Thomas Hickey each scored and rookie sensation Mathew Barzal had three assists to help the Islanders move into a tie with Columbus one point behind Carolina for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference.Article continues below ...”This felt like a playoff atmosphere. It was intense,” the 20-year-old Barzal said. ”And Jaro has been our backbone. He made a lot of key saves. That was a must-win for us.”Halak, who faced 51 shots in a 4-1 home loss to Columbus on Tuesday night, had 15 saves in the first period, 14 in the second and another 21 in the third for his 42nd career shutout.Halak’s effort was the most saves for any goaltender this season in a shutout and one shy of the franchise record set by Glenn Healy on Jan. 16, 1990, against Vancouver.Halak said weariness is not a factor despite the barrage of shots he has faced in recent games.”I feel fine. It’s all about managing between games and getting enough rest,” said the 32-year-old netminder who improved to 18-18-4 this season.Henrik Lundqvist finished with 32 saves for the Rangers, who have lost six of eight overall and dropped to 0-4-1 in five visits to Barclays Center since the Islanders moved to the Brooklyn arena in 2015. The Rangers remained four points behind the Hurricanes, who lost at New Jersey.The Rangers are 3-9-0 in their last 12 games as expectations grow they will make significant moves by the Feb. 26 trade deadline.”Last few weeks Custom Minnesota Wild Jerseys , slowly we are moving in the wrong direction not getting enough points,” Lundqvist said. ”The way things are going, it’s hard for us to score goals.”Bailey opened the scoring at 4:53 of first period with a power-play goal for his 15th goal of the season with Rangers defenseman Brady Skjei in the penalty box for tripping.”Getting the lead on the power play was nice and obviously Jaro was good,” Islanders coach Doug Weight said. ”It feels really good for him. Hopefully we can build on that.”Eberle made it 2-0 at 15:06 of the second when fired a loose puck past Lundqvist for his 20th. Nick Leddy got his second assist of the game on the goal.Hickey increased the lead to 3-0 at 3:57 of the third period with his third goal of the year on which Barzal recorded his third assist of the night.”Their goaltender has played extremely well against us. Tonight we had a real strong game and we weren’t able to get anything past him,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said. ”I didn’t like the results but we worked real hard and did a lot of good things out there.”Barzal has nine assists in his last four games and 25 points in last 17 contests. The 20-year-old center has 16 goals and 46 assists for 62 points, most among rookies this season. He also has three goals and six assists in the three games against the Rangers.”Mathew is a great talent. He made some really great plays and certainly contributed to the win,” Weight added. ”We’ll take it.”NOTES: The Rangers have scored two goals or fewer in eight of last 12 games. … The teams meet again Brooklyn on April 5. … The Islanders scratched F Jason Chimera for the first time this season. He was replaced by Tanner Fritz. … The Islanders also scratched F Alan Quine and D Sebastian Aho. … The Rangers scratched F Paul Carey and injured D Ryan McDonagh. …. The Rangers were also without injured forwards Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich and defensemen Marc Staal and Steven Kampfer. …. Hickey’s goal gave him 100 points for his career.UP NEXTRangers: At Ottawa on Saturday.Islanders: At Carolina on Friday night. LAS VEGAS (AP) Aaron and Rhonda Hawley never truly embraced how much the Vegas Golden Knights meant to them until late in the season.On March 29, their 17-year-old daughter Brooke and two classmates were killed in a traffic accident in Huntington Beach, California. Since then, the Golden Knights have helped the Hawleys during their grieving process.And even with the team trailing the Washington Capitals 3-1 in the Stanley Cup Final, they and thousands of others haven’t lost hope and are sticking by their first-year team until the last horn sounds. Aaron Hawley said that’s how his little girl would want it.”Her being a soccer player www.montrealcanadiensteamshops.com , she would kick a girl in the shin with one second left in the championship game if that’s what it took,” Hawley said Wednesday. ”Brooke was a fighter, and that’s what this team is about, it never gives up to the very last second.”On Wednesday, for the team’s first practice in Las Vegas since being pushed to the brink of elimination, fans decked out in team jerseys and hats and knights helmets and kids with hockey sticks or pucks in their hands packed the Knights’ practice facility before they even took the ice. And 45 minutes before the scheduled practice, with nothing in front of them but a fresh sheet of ice, the fans broke into a chant of ”Go Knights Go!” Game 5 is Thursday night.”We have a chance to play in front of our fans like we have all year long, use that energy to show them that we are also proud to be here and do something great for the city,” said Knights center Pierre Edouard-Bellemare. ”The city has our backs. I’m not worried about that situation whatsoever. It’s us to the city, we want to win for them. Once again Montreal Canadiens T-Shirts Womens , it’s one game. That’s all we have to think right now.”Fan Jerrald Larkin, whose own daughter, Allyssa, played soccer with Brooke Hawley, said he started watching hockey in 1989 and was originally a Los Angeles Kings fan. ”But when VGK became a reality it was all in for them,” he said. ”VGK has been such a great team and this year has been nothing short of amazing. Right from the beginning this year has been filled with many emotions and some ups and downs. There is no way we can count our team out and we are VGK proud with any outcome.”Larkin said he and his wife, Theresa, and their four daughters have been able to grow closer to many other fans because of hockey. While Theresa’s family is from Chicago and has been following sports their whole lives, Jerrald is from Vegas and never had a home team to cheer for other than the UNLV Runnin’ Rebels basketball team.Hawley’s dedication to the team led him and his wife to follow the Golden Knights to Washington, where they watched Game 3 at a restaurant and attended Game 4 at Capital One Arena.”As a native Las Vegan, I’m thrilled to see Golden Knights hockey get as much attention as the 1990 UNLV basketball team got Montreal Canadiens Hoodies Womens ,” Hawley said. ”I consider that a huge accomplishment. I’m worried next year what’s going to happen, because what fans don’t realize is what this eight-month team has accomplished, is something the Capitals have been waiting on for 44 years.”But it’s the handful of games he attended with Brooke by his side that will forever be imprinted in his mind.”With soccer practice, and a young girl’s social calendar, she made as many games as she could,” Hawley said, fighting back tears. ”How wonderful it was to sit with her, cheering on our hometown team. She really enjoyed it. We actually got her extra tickets for one game to bring her friend A.J., who also died in the accident. Those are times I will cherish and thank the team for an unbelievable inaugural season. The memories.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals