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A big Islanders scare, before he’s even an Islander. Ruslan Iskhakov, a UConn freshman forward who was the Isles’ second-round pick in June, was flattened by a hit in a game against Quinnipiac on Tuesday night. The Huskies said he would be OK, but it didn’t immediately look like that in the third period. The 5-foot-7 […]

WASHINGTON — He should have known and he knows it. Henrik Lundqvist, that is, after facing Alex Ovechkin for 13-plus seasons, five playoff series, 39 regular-season games and 33 postseason matches (not to mention international competition), should have known the game’s most prodigious shooter would, well, shoot the puck. “It’s a lesson there,” the King […]

ANAHEIM, Calif. — Some comebacks are routine, others a tad more daunting. The latter applies to Ryan Kesler, who may have come back a day too soon for the Islanders’ liking. Kesler, sidelined almost half of last season and the first couple of games this year after hip surgery, hinted at returning to form Wednesday […]

WASHINGTON — When Henrik Lundqvist took the nets Wednesday to complete the back-to-back assignment that began with Tuesday’s 3-2 shootout victory at the Garden over the Avalanche, that meant he had started six of the Rangers’ seven games. It also meant Alex Georgiev, the 22-year-old backup, has played just once since his final preseason outing, […]

Regarding the Rangers, who have been as advertised through the season’s first two weeks: 1. The Blueshirts have a decision to make on Filip Chytil, and it is not whether the 19-year-old belongs in the middle or on the wing, but whether he belongs in the NHL at all. And the decision must be reached […]

It had to happen eventually, and Thursday night it finally did. The Devils lost a hockey game. Gabriel Landeskog scored three goals, the last of which put Colorado ahead with 3:22 remaining, and the Avalanche beat the Devils 5-3 at Prudential Center. Taylor Hall had a goal and two assists for the Devils, who had […]

LOS ANGELES — Valtteri Filppula isn’t taking many shots, but the third-line center is making them count. The Islanders decided to follow his lead, with Filppula scoring two goals on two shots to help his team snap a two-game road losing streak with a 7-2 victory over the Kings on Thursday night. Filppula, Matt Martin, […]

There are years that go by without a reminder of why fighting is still part of the NHL. And then there are scraps like the one between Miles Wood and Jamie Benn on Wednesday night in Dallas that allow everyone to see why it was part of the game in the first place. Maybe there […]

It’s almost as if Brendan Smith were waiting and wanting to hear this question. “Do you think this system fits your game better than last year?” he was asked, referring to the lost season he spent mostly in the minors. “For sure I think it does,” the smiling Rangers defenseman told The Post after Friday’s […]

As the Rangers await their road trip to Chicago and California that begins next week, a decision is pending on talented 19-year-old winger Filip Chytil. But as of now, the club is continuing to give him a chance to prove he belongs. Chytil can play two more games — the Garden matches against the Flames […]