Game Preview: Boston Bruins vs New York Islanders

The Islanders have a 0-1-1 record against the Bruins this season.

The New York Islanders (25-20-14, 64 points) will want to extend their two-game winning streak against the Boston Bruins (35-12-14, 84 points) at UBS Arena.

LAST GAME

The Islanders finished their two-game road trip Thursday night against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. The game began with each team effectively killing off one penalty apiece until Ben Chiarot received a tripping penalty against Cal Clutterbuck. Brock Nelson scored 8 seconds after Chiarot’s penalty expired with a snap shot over Alex Lyon’s head. The Islanders maintained their lead when Casey Cizikas scored four minutes later off a deflection from Adam Pelech. In a favorable turn of events, the Isles successfully killed two penalties in the opening session.

The Red Wings found their offensive game 5 minutes into the second period as Olli Maatta scored on a slap shot from the blue line. With the Isles spending most of their time in the defensive zone, they were outshot 9-6 in this frame.

Right off the opening faceoff in the third period, Patrick Kane scored on a deflection from Dylan Larkin. The Red Wings kept momentum until Christian Fischer took a hooking penalty against Bo Horvat. Nelson took advantage with his 27th goal on an alluring set-up from Mathew Barzal. The Red Wings answered just 5 minutes later on Maatta’s second goal of the night. The game seemed as if it was destined for overtime tied 3-3 until Horvat and Nelson battled for the puck in front of Lyon. As the puck was deflected into the corner, Barzal took a desperation shot that hit off of Lyon’s skate and into the net. The Isles never looked back, even scoring their first empty-netter of the season from Pierre Engvall to win 5-3.

The Bruins’ last game came on Thursday when they hosted the defending Stanley Cup Champion Las Vegas Golden Knights at TB Bank Arena. The game was scoreless until Morgan Geekie netted one past Adin Hill 14:34 into the first period. The Bruins achieved a rare hockey endeavor, scoring 2 more times within 3 minutes of each other on goals from Geekie and Jesper Boqvist. The Golden Knights were relentless in the second period, scoring three goals to shorten the lead to 4-3. After Chandler Stephenson tied the game on a shorthanded goal 5 minutes into the third period, rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei scored on the powerplay to secure a Bruins victory 5-4.

HISTORICAL MATCHUP

The Islanders are 0-1-1 against the Bruins this season. Their first matchup came on November 9th at TD Bank Arena. The first period concluded with goals from Trent Frederic and Nelson to tie the game 1-1. The Bruins took the lead in the second period on a powerplay goal from Boston native Charlie Coyle. The third period started with Simon Holmstrom continuing his shorthanded goal streak on a breakaway opportunity with J.G. Pageau. However, this game will forever be known as the Frederic game as he scored his first career hat trick to beat the Islanders 5-2.

The second matchup came on December 15th at UBS Arena. The first period ended with Linus Ullmark having to make 15 saves including some highlight reels against Barzal and Horvat. Alexander Romanov and Holmstrom finally shot 2 goals past him to open the second period. However, the Isles penalty kill was still atrocious as Geekie and David Pastrnak tied the game. The Isles scored twice in the third period on powerplay goals from Horvat and Nelson but blew the lead twice allowing goals to James van Riemsdyk and Lohrei. The game was eventually settled in a shootout as Holmstrom’s slick backhand past Ullmark to tie it 1-1 was not enough to hold off Pastrnak’s successful attempt against Ilya Sorokin to win the game 5-4.hhhsh

 

 

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