NHL: New York Islanders at Boston BruinsPhoto Courtesy Of NESN.com

By: Garrett Haydon | Follow Me On Twitter @thesportsguy97

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

Home: Boston Bruins (28-17-7)

Away: New York Islanders (30-15-6)

Boston’s Lineup

Forwards

Marchand-Bergeron-Pastrnak

Cehlarik-Krejci-DeBrusk

Kuraly-Acciari-Wagner

Nordstrom-Frederic-Backes

Defense

Chara-Carlo

Krug-Miller

Grzelcyk-McAvoy

Goalies

Rask

Halak

New York’s Lineup

Forwards

Lee-Nelson-Eberle

Beauvillier-Barzal-Bailey

Dal Colle-Filppula-Komarov

Martin-Cizikas-Clutterbuck

Defense

Leddy-Boychuk

Pelech-Pulock

Toews-Mayfield

Goalies

Lerner

Greiss

First Period

The game began after a ceremony to honor the New England Patriots as they celebrated their sixth championship with the Garden crowd. Just 18 seconds into the game, David Backes sent the puck over the glass for a delay of game penalty which resulted in an Islanders power play. The Bruins killed the penalty despite a few scoring chances by the Islanders. The B’s struggled early as they tried to get their legs moving after a slow start.

A great shift by the first line gave the Bruins some offensive momentum in the middle stages of the period as they looked to find their footing. Brock Nelson took a hooking penalty behind the Boston net, resulting in the Bruins first power play of the night. The Islanders killed off the man advantage but immediately went back on the penalty kill as Ryan Pulock took a slashing penalty. The Islanders killed off the penalty as the Bruins failed to get any significant scoring chances.

The B’s would get yet another power play as Scott Mayfield dangerously cross checked Sean Kuraly into the end boards. The Islanders killed off the man advantage yet again as the Bruins failed to get any shots on goal.

Score: Tied 0-0

Second Period

The Bruins took the lead early in the second period as Patrice Bergeron (playing in his 1,000th game) buried a loose puck in front of the goal.

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The Bruins seemed to be more involved in the opening moments of the middle period as they got some decent scoring chances on Robin Lehner. The Islanders began to get an offensive rhythm in the second period as the Bruins became a little sloppy in their own zone. The Islanders got their second power play of the game as Brandon Carlo went off for tripping. The Bruins killed off the penalty as the Islanders got a couple scoring chances but Tuukka Rask stood tall.

Another huge save by Rask after a bad turnover kept the game scoreless as Number 40 absolutely robbed Matt Martin. The Islanders would pick up another power play as Chris Wagner took a slashing call. Jordan Eberle made the Bruins pay with a man advantage strike that somehow snuck through Rask.

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The first line responded with another strong shift and it nearly resulted in Bergeron’s second goal of the night but Lehner was up to the challenge.

Score: Tied 1-1

Third Period

The Bruins were scattered defensively in their own end in the first minutes of the final period as the Islanders pushes very hard for the go ahead goal. Another great answering shift by the top line gave the B’s the momentum they desperately needed after a slow start to the period. Cal Clutterbuck appeared to give the Islanders the lead but the goal was called back due to the play being offside.

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The Bruins would regain the lead as Peter Cehlarik scored off of a Kevan Miller rebound with just over 13 minutes to play.

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Rask and the Bruins defense had a great sequence complete with a bunch of quality stops by the goaltender and by Joakim Nordstrom who blocked two shots. Both teams got physical towards the conclusion of the game as they looked to impose their wills. With just over eight minutes to go, Matt Grzelcyk went to the box for tripping and slashing which resulted in a four minute power play for the Islanders. The Bruins killed both penalties to Grzelcyk as Rask and the B’s defense came up huge.

The Islanders pulled Lehner with about 1:15 to play and Bergeron iced it with 55 seconds to go as he got a great assist from Pastrnak who gave up the empty net for his teammate.

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Final Score: 3-1 Bruins

Three Stars Of The Game

First Star: No doubt about this one. Number 37 had a signature performance in his 1,000th game, scoring a pair of goals.

Second Star: Rask. The Bruin goalie had a strong night with 28 saves to preserve the victory and was especially outstanding in the final period.

Third Star: Cehlarik. He wasn’t spectacular but his goal in the third proved to be the game winner for the Bruins second straight victory.

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