By: Andrew Bluestein | Follow Me On X (Formerly Twitter) @adbblue
The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Islanders 5-4 in a shootout Friday night in a gutsy win. The Bruins never led during regulation but kept fighting and earned themselves two points. Linus Ullmark stood on his head, making several ridiculous saves, which was the difference maker.
This was a meaningful win for the team, coming off a disappointing overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils. The Islanders are known for playing a tight defensive game, but that was not the case at all in this tilt.
First Period
The Bruins controlled the play early on in the first period. Morgan Geekie had a great chance set up by David Pastrnak but was robbed by Ilya Sorokin. Pastrnak also landed a big check on Cal Clutterbuck, much to the surprise of spectators. The Bruins had an incredible penalty kill, generating a couple of quality chances. But the Islanders poured it on later in the opening frame.
It was the teams with the top two lowest goals against in the first period all season, which makes sense considering neither team scored. Linus Ullmark made some great saves in the opening frame, 16 of them, in fact, as the Islanders out-shot the Bruins 16 to nine.
Second Period
The Bruins got worked to a crisp at the start of the second period. The Islanders took advantage and struck first. Alexander Romanov beat Ullmark walking in from the point to give his team a 1-0 lead. The Islanders kept pouring the chances on before the Bruins pushed back a bit. The Islanders had a goal waived off due to an obvious goaltender interference.
However, the Bruins once again had trouble setting up shop on the offensive end. That led to a two-on-one, and the Islanders scored, with Simon Holmstrom getting the goal, making it 2-0. It looked like the Islanders took a 3-0 lead while shorthand, but Ullmark stretched out, robbing Holmstrom with a toe save.
After the Bruins set up shop quickly on the power play, Morgan Geekie beat Sorokin. That cut the lead in half, making it 2-1. Boston cashed in again on the power-play, when Kevin Shattenkirk made a great dish over to Pastrnak. The Bruins sniper buried the one-timer, tying the game 2-2, and that’s how the second period ended.
Third Period, Overtime and Shootout
The third period was even to start, but then Boston took a penalty. Shattenkirk went off for tripping, resulting in an Islanders power play. They took advantage, and Bo Horvat cashed in, beating Ullmark from the slot, making it 3-2. It seemed as if Marchand tied it, but his goal was waived off due to him pushing the puck in with his glove. The hockey gods, however, reimbursed the Bruins.
Boston scored their third power-play goal of the night when Shattenkirk fired a shot that got deflected in by James Van Riemsdyk. That tied it 3-3. New York struck back, with their second goal of the period on the man advantage. Brock Nelson rifled a shot home that banked off the end boards. The Black and Gold tied it once more when Mason Lohrei banked a shot of Sorokin from behind the net, which tied it 4-4.
The game went into overtime; however, the Bruins were guilty of a minor penalty before the end of regulation. They killed off the remainder of the penalty in overtime, and no one scored after that, so it went to a shootout. Charlie Coyle potted the first shootout goal with an absolute roof job.
Holmstrom answered, beating Ullmark, but Pastrnak was up for the Bruins next. He beat Sorokin on the glove side, making it look way too easy, sealing a 5-4 Boston victory.
Up Next
The Bruins will host the New York Rangers on Saturday night in the second half of a back-to-back. The Rangers are right behind Boston in the Eastern Conference standings. It’ll be a 7:00 p.m. puck drop.
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