The Islanders were in desperate need of a reset against the Rangers on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden — a building in which they hadn’t won in three years — coming off a stale performance 24 hours earlier.

Coach Patrick Roy recognized the moment as his team started a seven-game road trip, reorganizing his defense pairs and his lines.

“Last game, we just weren’t happy with our game,” Bo Horvat said. “We came out and played the complete opposite tonight and played a great hockey game.”

It all worked in a 5-0 win, especially with Horvat continuing his torrid goal-scoring pace with two more — including one on the power play — to give him 11 in 15 games.

But none of the changes would have mattered if not for Ilya Sorokin’s stellar performance in the team’s first shutout this season

See Full Page