Back in January, the Bruins lost their only game in regulation this entire season. That game was against the New York Islanders. On Saturday night, the Bruins had their chance for revenge. The Bruins came off a 1-0 win against the Rangers last night, and a ten game point streak. The Islanders have struggled recently on the defensive end, but are a high scoring team. The Bruins came in looking for an additional two points to hold them atop the East Division.
In the first period, it was Brad Marchand that opened the scoring. Marchand’s wrister to the top left corner beat the glove of Seymon Varlamov. The assists went to David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron. Just three minutes later, it was JG Pageau’s work of tying the game at one. After a mess in front, Pageau was able to swipe his stick through the crease, and slid it past Tuukka Rask to the right side of the net.
Less than four minutes later, the Bruins broke down again. Jordan Eberle took a slapshot from inside the blue line, and Tuukka Rask redirected it off the inside of his pads and in. The Islanders finished the first with a 2-1 lead.
With about four minutes to go in the second, the Bruins found their equalizer. Patrice Bergeron was able to snipe one into the top left corner on the feed from Marchand, the secondary assist to Carlo. The Bruins went into the second intermission tied at two a piece. The Islanders were the significantly better team in the first two frames.
Final Minutes:
In the third, the Bruins came out with some energy. Shots were thrown on net, but Seymon Varlamov was there to stop all of them. When David Pastrnak picked up a hooking penalty, momentum shifted greatly. Matthew Barzal made the power play count, as he slapped home an incredible shot from a tough angle straight into the awaiting net. The Isles took a 3-2 lead. The pass was just as impressive, as Eberle picked up the turn around assist.
Ten minutes later, New York sealed the game with a shorthanded goal via JG Pageau, marking his second goal of the game. Komarov sent a splitting pass between two Boston defenders, and Pageau simply slotted it into the bottom right smoothly. Komarov picked up his second assist on the game.
Final Thoughts:
The Bruins ten game point streak comes to an end, but there’s not much to complain about. Coming off a back to back is never easy, and the Bruins recovery simply wasn’t enough to deal with the high octane offense of the Islanders. The Islanders now own both regulation losses of the Bruins this season, as they improve to 6-4-3. On the other hand, the Bruins will fall to 10-2-2, but will stay afloat at the top of the East division. The Flyers and Capitals have a ways to go to catch up to the red hot Bruins.
Next Game:
Boston will yet again have a break due to a COVID outbreak. This time, it’ll be the New Jersey Devils. The Devils have struggled to get games in, as they have only played nine this entire season. New Jersey has yet to play a game in the month of February due to COVID-19, and hope to resume their schedule next week.
Still, the next game on the Bruins schedule will come against the Devils. They will have four days to rest before facing off with the Devils next Thursday at TD Garden.