Perched in first place, the Islanders find themselves in rarefied air halfway through the season, their last in Nassau County before moving to Brooklyn.

Everything feels different after last year’s dismal last-place finish in the Metropolitan Division. But winning at Madison Square Garden has been a regular occurrence for the Islanders, and on Tuesday night they extended that streak with efficiency.

Anders Lee, Nikolay Kulemin and Frans Nielsen scored second-period goals, and Jaroslav Halak made 27 saves as the Islanders unleashed 44 shots and downed the Rangers, 3-0, winning for the fifth time in their last six visits to the Garden. It was the first time the Islanders shut out the Rangers at the Garden since Dec. 17, 1975.

“It was a big rivalry game, and the guys deserve a lot of credit for playing hard hockey,” said Halak, who won for the 23rd time this season. “I’ll take it — another 2 points, and we keep climbing the ladder.”