Ondrej Palat wasted no time making his presence felt in his Islanders debut.
The veteran winger, acquired in a recent trade with New Jersey, opened the scoring and chipped in an assist as the Islanders rolled past the rival Rangers, 5-2, on Wednesday night. It was a strong start in blue and orange for Palat, who looked right at home on Long Island - and helped his new team to its second straight win.
Simon Holmstrom was all over the ice in this one, tallying a goal and two assists in one of his most complete performances of the season. David Rittich didn’t have to stand on his head - the Islanders’ defense kept the workload light - but he was solid when called upon, stopping 14 shots to secure the win.
The Rangers, meanwhile, continued their post-Winter Classic slide. With the loss, they’ve now dropped four of their last five and are just 2-8-1 since their Jan. 2 win in Florida. Spencer Martin faced a barrage of chances and did what he could with 31 saves, but the Rangers couldn’t keep pace - and they were missing a key piece, as Artemi Panarin was held out for roster management and won’t return until after the Olympic break.
The Islanders struck first on the power play, with Holmstrom threading a sharp pass from the half wall to Palat in the slot. Palat wasted no time, burying it with 5:01 left in the opening period for his first goal as an Islander.
Just over a minute later, the two swapped roles. Tony DeAngelo found Holmstrom crashing the crease, and the 22-year-old tapped it in to make it 2-0.
The Rangers answered before the period was out. J.T. Miller sent a crisp cross-ice feed to Mika Zibanejad, who snapped it home to cut the deficit to one heading into the intermission.
But the Islanders came out flying in the second. Mathew Barzal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored just 47 seconds apart midway through the period, pushing the lead to 4-1 and taking the air out of the Garden.
Emil Heineman added a fifth for the Islanders, while Taylor Raddysh managed a late goal for the Rangers, but the outcome was never really in doubt after the second-period surge.
As for Palat, his debut couldn’t have gone much better. The Islanders brought him in from New Jersey along with a third-round pick in 2026 and a sixth-rounder in 2027, sending forward Maxim Tsyplakov the other way. If this game was any indication, Palat’s veteran presence and playoff pedigree could be a major asset down the stretch.
The rivalry continues Thursday night when the two teams meet again - this time on Long Island - for the back half of the home-and-home. Expect the Rangers to come out with something to prove.