NHL

Islanders barely put up ‘fight’ against Rangers

For two periods, the only thing compelling about this back-to-back series was the shot to the back Sean Avery laid on Zenon Konopka in the second period, drawing a boarding penalty.

We do not mean to suggest that the mean has gone out of Rangers vs. Islanders, but enforcer Derek Boogaard played 2:42, his presence not even found necessary after Ryan Callahan blatantly elbowed Frans Nielsen in the head and Jesse Joensuu responded.

Holy Garry Howatt, what the hell kind of Rangers-Islanders game was this?

“You could see they were just waiting for us to make a mistake,” said Henrik Lundqvist, who didn’t dare talk himself into one as he waited for an Islanders barrage the Rangers goalie knew in his heart was not coming.

John Tavares had a good chance up the slot in the second period and Jack Hillen hit the crossbar through a screen in the third. That, really, was the extent of the Islanders’ chances, making Lundqvist’s fourth shutout of the season and 28th of his career, by a 2-0 final at the Garden, probably one of his all-time easiest and hardest at the same time.

It gets lonely back there when the puck never stops by to say hello. A goalie’s sweat can dry even faster than a Rangers fan’s tears that the Islanders are less dangerous than ever, if that seems possible.

When it’s 6-0 is one thing. But this one was 1-0 all the way up until Brian Boyle hit the empty net with three seconds to play, so a goalie alone with his thoughts has to create imaginary enemies to keep himself ready.

Good thing for Lundqvist, whose services became necessary in relief of Martin Biron in Thursday night’s 6-5 slop-a-thon in Uniondale.

“It definitely helped I was in it [Thursday] night,” Lundqvist said. “Mentally, you feel pretty sharp early on because you just played 24 hours ago.

“But as long you can see they aren’t on the scoreboard you feel confident. They score two goals early, that might be a little tough.”

The Islanders probably shot themselves out for the next month Thursday night. And the bullet holes the Rangers felt for after escaping what would have been a dreadful loss stood them in good stead in the rematch. They are 7-0 on the second night of back-to-backs because fatigue makes cowards of them all.

“When you feel tired and beat up you play simple,” Lundqvist said. “Back-to-back, we keep the game simple and minimize our mistakes.

“It’s hard to feel 100 percent when you played last night. You use what you’ve got.”

The Islanders don’t have much, the 17 shots they managed last night being testimony. But those 17 shots, said Lundqvist, were a reflection of a team shutout, the best kind.

By now, Lundqvist has experienced enough varieties to know. In only his sixth season, he already has four more shutout than Mike Richter, who played 14 years. The shutout went out of style in the Wayne Gretzky-Mario Lemieux era, but Ed Giacomin’s Rangers record of 49 likely is as doomed as the Islanders were when they showed up last night.

“It’s a team sport, but at the same time you are by yourself back there sometimes,” Lundqvist said. “I love to compete, and when you have a shutout you did a lot of good things.”

His team didn’t have to do many of them last night. Though no one was knocking out anyone’s teeth, the Rangers weren’t looking any gift horses in the mouth or taking any chances of loose pucks winding up in the goalmouth, not that Lundqvist wouldn’t have had them covered.

jay.greenberg@nypost.com