Jaroslav Halak's rough start continues in Rangers' loss to Islanders

Jaroslav Halak had a straight face when it was pointed out to him a few weeks ago that among the Rangers faithful, he’d always been known as a Rangers-killer.

“Hopefully, it’ll be the opposite, and I’m not the Rangers-killer,’’ the new backup goaltender said. “This time I’m on their team, so I’ll try to do the opposite, help them out. For me, any chance I get, and every night that I get the chance to play, I’ll try to help them out, get the points and win the games.’’

But it’s been a tough start for the well-traveled 37-year-old in his first season with the Blueshirts. Halak fell to 0-3-0 after the Rangers lost to his former team, the Islanders, 3-0, Wednesday night at UBS Arena.

With the Rangers playing the second night of a back-to-back, and with Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin making some unbelievable saves at the other end of the ice, Halak played well for the Rangers, but not well enough. Goals by Kyle Palmieri at 8:44 of the second period and 15:22 of the third, and Josh Bailey at 5:37 of the third period doomed him and the Rangers to a 3-0 loss for fourth straight loss (0-2-2).

But Rangers coach Gerard Gallant didn’t pin any blame on Halak, who stopped 26 of 29 shots.

“I’m happy with the way he played tonight,’’ Gallant said. “He played a real good, strong game.’’

The Rangers signed Halak as a free agent this summer after trading Alexandar Georgiev to the defending Stanley Cup champion Avalanche. Georgiev, 26, had struggled to handle the mental side of being a backup to Igor Shesterkin and desperately needed a change of scenery.

The Rangers needed a goalie who could deal with the irregular playing time with Shesterkin starting the lion’s share of the games. They also needed to save a little money in their backup goalie position, given how tight they are against the $82.5 million salary cap. Halak, who had played for six NHL teams in his 17-year career, signed a one-year deal for a $1.5 million cap hit.

Halak's first start was in Winnipeg on Oct. 14 and while he played well, the team in front of him ran out of gas in the third period and a 1-1 game ended up a 4-1 loss. Against Columbus on Sunday, Halak allowed one bad goal that turned a 1-0 deficit into a 2-0 hole, and the Rangers went on to lose, 5-1.

Against the Islanders, for whom he played four seasons, from 2014-18, Halak has not had good numbers. Since leaving Long Island, he had been 0-2-2 with a 5.62 goals-against average and .825 save percentage against the Islanders, despite having good numbers against the rest of the league.

On Wednesday, Palmieri beat him from the slot in the second period and Bailey redirected Adam Pelech’s shot-pass early in the third. Palmieri’s second goal came on a shot that went in and out of the net so fast, it was originally not ruled a goal and play continued, but the goal was confirmed after a video review.

Despite the rough start, Halak may get back in net soon. The Rangers have another back-to-back coming up in Dallas on Saturday and in Arizona on Sunday, so there’s a reasonable chance Halak could play in the second game against the Coyotes.

Halak said he handles the uncertain playing time by taking things day-by-day.

“That’s basically the main approach,’’ he said. “Don’t worry about what happened yesterday, don’t worry about what happens tomorrow, but just stay in the moment. That’s going to be my approach for the whole season. And try to enjoy it. You never know when is the last one.’’

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.