NEW YORK -- Travis Hamonic could not contain his smile as he contemplated the delicious suggestion.

His New York Islanders meeting the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time since 1994 would be fun, according to Hamonic. The comment came a few moments after Cal Clutterbuck scored the tiebreaking goal with 1:28 left in regulation to lead the Islanders to a wild 6-4 win over the Rangers on Sunday afternoon at Madison Square Garden.

"Everyone in New York wants to see it," Hamonic added. "It's in the back of everybody's head."

It shows.

Johnny Boychuk scored twice, and Brock Nelson, Kyle Okposo and Frans Nielsen each added goals for the Islanders, who won their third straight.

Boychuk, Okposo, Nielsen and Nick Leddy each finished with two points as the Islanders (36-20-7) improved to 3-0 against the Rangers this season. The teams will meet once more in the regular season, April 7 at Madison Square Garden.

The win allowed the Islanders to remain three points ahead of Eastern Conference-leading Pittsburgh for third place in the Metropolitan Division. As the Islanders were putting the finishing touches on their win, the Penguins were completing a 6-1 rout of the New Jersey Devils in Newark, N.J.

"We haven't moved in the standings," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.

Jaroslav Halak made 22 saves on 26 shots against a Rangers squad that lost for the second time in three games.

"We kind of came out flat," Rangers center Derek Stepan said.

Oscar Lindberg, Tanner Glass, Eric Staal and Derick Brassard scored for the Rangers (38-22-6). Antti Raanta finished with 26 saves.

Clutterbuck's snap shot following an offensive-zone faceoff allowed the Islanders to regain a lead they would not relinquish. Nielsen added an empty-netter with 1:01 left to put the game out of reach.

"I saw it," Raanta said of Clutterbuck's game-winning goal. "I took one step too much to the middle and it opened up the side. He got his shot straight through to the top shelf -- (it) hit a little bit of the shoulder but not enough -- and it went in."

Down 4-3 with 8:21 left in the third period, the Rangers got the tying goal from Brassard on a one-timer from the right circle that beat Halak glove side.

"I'm not going to talk about the goaltending," Capuano said.

The game was explosive from the opening puck drop. At the first intermission, the Islanders led 4-3.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the last time the Rangers and an opponent combined for seven goals in a period was April 19, 2013, at Buffalo.

The Islanders scored the first three goals in a span of 4:45. The Rangers got the next two, both in the 12th minute, before Boychuk gave the Islanders a 4-2 edge at 13:14. The Rangers responded 31 seconds later, slicing the lead to one again.

"We dominated the first period," Capuano said.

Neither team scored in the second period.

NOTES: Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist and D Marc Staal did not play. Lundqvist is still recovering from neck spasms after a collision with D Ryan McDonagh in a 4-1 loss to Pittsburgh on Thursday. Staal is out with back spasms caused by dehydration. He was replaced in the lineup by D Dylan McIlrath, who saw a game-low 3:38 of ice time. ... Rangers coach Alain Vigneault announced LW Rick Nash could practice with the team this week. Nash has been out since Jan. 22 with a deep bone bruise in his left leg. ... The Islanders scratched G Thomas Greiss, D Ryan Pulock, RW Steve Bernier and LW Eric Boulton. D Calvin de Haan (lower body) and C Mikhail Grabovski (upper body) missed the game with injuries. ... Pulock, the 15th pick in the 2013 draft, will "get his ice time," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "He's definitely going to play." The Islanders called up Pulock from AHL Bridgeport on Tuesday.