Barry Trotz moved into sole possession of third place on the NHL’s all-time coaching wins list as the Islanders blanked the Rangers 2-0.
Casey Cizikas and Matt Martin scored 125 seconds apart midway through the third period to break the deadlock. Varlamov made 30 stops and is the first goaltender in Islanders history to shut out the Rangers twice in one season.
For Trotz, it was his 1,685th game as an NHL head coach and his 850th win, moving out of a tie with Ken Hitchcock for third place. Only Joel Quenneville (931) and Scotty Bowman (1,244) have more wins as NHL head coaches.
“To be in the same breath as those guys like Hitch and people like that, it’s sort of humbling when I think about it,” Trotz said. “But it really doesn’t mean anything, just that I’ve been around for a long time.”
After Trotz, the next five active NHL coaches on the wins list are Lindy Ruff (740), Paul Maurice (739), Alain Vigneault (697), Claude Julien (666), and John Tortorella (661).
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Sean Leahy is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @Sean_Leahy.