Pens - Isles Fallout: Frustrations expressed by Bylsma, some players over Pens trying to "outscore" teams over out-defending

The New York Islanders played spoilers Tuesday night, giving the New York Rangers some much needed breathing room in the race for the top spot.

EAST STANDINGS

1. NYR (48-21-7, 103pts)
2. BOS (45-28-3, 93pts)
3. FLA (37-24-15, 89pts)
4. PIT (47-23-6, 100pts)
5. PHI (44-24-8, 96pts)
6. NJD (43-28-6, 92pts)
7. OTT (39-28-10, 88pts)
8. BUF (38-29-10, 86pts)
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9. WAS (38-31-8, 84pts)

The Islanders 5-3 win over the Penguins helped the Rangers increase their division and conference lead over Penguins to three points, after the Rangers edged out the Minnesota Wild, 3-2 tonight.

With six games remaining, tonight's loss to the Islanders could end up being a costly one for the Penguins who following Thursday's game against the Islanders, have a tough five game stretch to finish the season facing all likely playoff teams in Buffalo, Boston, New York Rangers and Philadelphia twice. The Sabres surpassed the Washington Capitals for the No. 8 seed, getting a huge 5-1 win over the Caps tonight.

The Penguins are usually the dominant team in the transition game but that wasn't the case Tuesday night in the Penguins 5-3 loss to the Islanders.