Brock Nelson, Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal scored in the opening period and the New York Islanders beat the New York Rangers 4-0 at Madison Square Garden on Thursday night.

Semyon Varlamov stopped 24 shots for his 28th career shutout and third with the Islanders. Defenseman Nick Leddy added two assists.

Igor Shesterkin made 29 saves as the Rangers fell in the first of eight games between the rivals. Alexis Lafreniere, the first overall selection of the 2020 NHL d, made his debut and recorded one shot in 15:27 minutes of ice time.

Barzal capped off the three-goal first period with an impressive stick-handling maneuver before sending the puck past Shesterkin. The Islanders signed Barzal to a three-year contract earlier this month worth a reported $21 million. The 23-year-old center has led the Islanders in scoring in each of his three NHL seasons.

Nelson scored his first of the season 2:33 into the first period on the power play. Anthony Beauvillier’s shot deflected off Adam Fox’s skate to Nelson in the slot for an early Islanders lead.

Lee doubled the Islanders' lead 1:19 after the opening strike, scoring on a wrist shot from the right circle. Defenseman Nick Leddy recorded his second assist of the game on the goal.

Shesterkin became the first goaltender other than Henrik Lundqvist to start a season opener for the Rangers since Kevin Weekes in October 2005. Lundqvist signed with the Washington Capitals in October, but is unable to play this season due to a heart condition.

The Islanders extended their edge to four when Jordan Eberle’s shot bounced off Rangers defenseman Jacob Trouba. Lee was originally credited with his second goal after winning a puck battle against the Rangers alternate captain. Twenty-one-year-old defenseman Noah Dobson also assisted on the Islanders’ second power-play goal.

BUILDING BLOCKS

The Islanders enter the season after making it to the Eastern Conference final for the first time since the 1992-93 season.

FRESH LOOK

The average age of a player on the Rangers’ active roster entering the season is 25.5 years old, which is the youngest in the NHL. It was the first time in franchise history that seven players 22 or younger (Filip Chytil, Adam Fox, Brett Howden, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafreniere, Ryan Lindgren and K’Andre Miller) played in a season-opening game according to NHL Stats and Information.

UP NEXT

The Islanders and Rangers play again Saturday at Madison Square Garden as part of a truncated 56-game schedule. The teams will square off seven more times this season as part of a travel-friendly East Division that includes the Boston Bruins, Buffalo Sabres, New Jersey Devils, Philadelphia Flyers and Pittsburgh Penguins.

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