NEW YORK -- The first game between the New York Islanders and the New York Rangers at Barclays Center went like the majority of the games at the Islanders' former home at Nassau Coliseum: The feistiness between the fan bases spilled over onto the ice before the Islanders and their fans exited happy.

Right winger Kyle Okposo scored the only goal of the shootout Wednesday to lift the Islanders to a 2-1 win in front of an energized and bipartisan sellout crowd of 15,795.

"It's good for our fan base," said Islanders center and captain John Tavares, who scored the game's first goal with 7:38 left in the second period. "Islander fans will wake up with a little strut tomorrow. I think that makes a lot of them happy."

It made the Islanders pretty happy, too. With their third straight win overall the Islanders (14-8-4) pulled within four points of the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers (17-6-3), who have lost four of five.

"Obviously important for the standings," Tavares said. "These games are always a lot of fun to play in. So when you get two points, emotionally it's a big lift."

For a while Wednesday, there seemed to be more emotion in the stands than on the ice. Whereas the Islanders' old home at Nassau Coliseum was a tough commute for the Rangers' fans, the Barclays Center's close proximity to Manhattan seemed to generate a home-game atmosphere for the Rangers as well as the second official sellout crowd.

Fans took turns out-booing one another during introductions and traded slightly off-color chants in a stairwell after a first period in which the Rangers outshot the Islanders 13-6.

"It was loud -- the loudest game this year," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. "It was a great atmosphere. I think the fans got their money's worth. It was up-and-down hockey."

Tavares gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead during a 5-on-3 opportunity when he maneuvered the puck around the right faceoff circle before firing a shot past Rangers right winger Jesper Fast and defenseman Marc Staal and under the glove of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist.

The Rangers tied it with 1:23 left in the second, when a shot by Staal ticked off the skate of left wing Viktor Stalberg and squirted under the legs of Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.

The Islanders outshot the Rangers 12-6 and had the best chances in a scoreless yet entertaining and fast-paced third period. Lundqvist cradled a shot by center Frans Nielsen midway through the period and turned away consecutive point-blank shots by center Brock Nelson and Tavares about 30 seconds later.

"I thought it was a hard-fought game by two teams that battled real hard, battled for every inch on the ice," Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault said.

Emotions spilled over during an eventful overtime in which the Islanders killed off a Rangers power play generated by a too many men on the ice call. Tavares served the penalty and nearly won the game seconds after he exited the box, when he fired a shot at Lundqvist.

After the whistle blew, Rangers defenseman Keith Yandle shoved Islanders center Casey Cizikas. No punches were thrown, but Yandle and Cizikas were both served roughing penalties after a fracas that also included Islanders defenseman Travis Hamonic and Rangers center Chris Kreider.

"It was a big lead-up today with the later game," Tavares said, referring to the 8 p.m. start. "You're battling hard. It obviously heats up as the game goes on."

Okposo scored on the first shot of the shootout against Lundqvist, who made 36 saves in regulation and overtime.

"Both teams had some good looks, the goaltending was good on both sides," Vigneault said. "Tonight we weren't on the right side of the shootout."

Halak made 33 saves in regulation and overtime before stopping all three shootout shots he faced -- a decided change from last Saturday night, when he allowed goals to all five shooters in a loss to the Florida Panthers.

With the win, the Islanders improved to 66-50-8-4 in home games against the Rangers. Fifty of those games have been decided by one goal or ended in a tie. The teams are 21-21-8 in those contests.

"They started the game well and we got better as the game went on," Islanders right winger Cal Clutterbuck said. "So I think it was a pretty good hockey game to watch."

NOTES: The win by the Islanders snapped a nine-game losing streak in one-goal home games against the Rangers dating back to the 2008-09 season. ... The Islanders scratched RW Steve Bernier and D Brian Strait. ... The Rangers scratched RW Emerson Etem (illness), D Kevin Klein (oblique) and C Derek Stepan (broken ribs). To replace Etem, the Rangers recalled LW Tanner Glass from Hartford of the AHL. ...The Islanders-Rangers game is the first of three New York-New York games scheduled this week. The Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks play Friday, while the New York Giants and New York Jets play Sunday. According to Newsday, it is the first time since December 1988 three New York-New York games took place in the same week.