In a see-saw battle, the Boston Bruins edged past the New York Islanders, winning 5-4 in a shootout at UBS Arena Friday.
ELMONT, NY – Despite not leading for the entirety of the contest, the Boston Bruins overcame three deficits to defeat the New York Islanders 5-4 in the shootout on Friday night.
It was the Islanders’ final game of a six game homestand. Despite the loss, the Islanders finished 4-0-2 at UBS Arena and extended their point streak overall to eight games.
New York outshot the Bruins 15-9 in the opening first period and also earned a power play opportunity, but neither team found the back of the net. However, turnovers were the Islanders’ main weakness, as they gave away the puck eight times to Boston’s two turnovers, seven of them coming in the defensive zone.
The Islanders’ passing was much cleaner to begin the second period, which led to them finding the net first.
Off a Bo Horvat face-off win, he guided the puck back to Mathew Barzal, who made a backhand pass to Alex Romanov at the left point. The Islanders’ defenseman walked down the left side, beating Linus Ullmark glove side from the left circle to give New York a 1-0 lead at 1:12 of the period.
Horvat’s secondary helper extended his point streak to nine games, a tie for the longest in his career. The Islanders’ top center has 13 points, with five goals and eight assists, over that span.
Barzal now has points in five straight, with three goals and five assists.
The Islanders carried their strong play throughout the second and dodged a bullet around the frame’s halfway mark. A Sebastian Aho and Oskar Steen puck battle led to a collision with Ilya Sorokin. After a visit from the trainer, the Islanders’ netminder remained in the game.
The Islanders almost added a second goal about a minute later.
A left point shot from Romanov was tipped in front by Casey Cizikas, but the referee waved it off due to goaltender interference by Hudson Fasching. Islanders head coach Lane Lambert did not challenge.
Despite the setback, a familiar combination scored off the rush three minutes later.
After a Sorokin save, Jean-Gabriel Paeau started a two-on-one on the left side. The centerman found Simon Holmstrom all alone in front, who went forehand-backhand and tucked it past the right pad of Ullmark. Holmstrom’s ninth of the season gave the Islanders a 2-0 lead.
Penalty trouble and a highlight-reel stop helped get the Bruins even. After, Ullmark robbed Holmstrom with his skate on a rebound. Boston took the ensuing rush the other way and made no mistake, with Morgan Geekie finishing a passing play from James van Riemsdyk and Brad Marchand, cutting the deficit in half at 14:45.
2:41 later, after a failed Islander clearance, Geekie handed the puck off to Kevin Shattenkirk. Boston’s defenseman found David Pastrnak wide open on the left dot, burying the puck past Sorokin to tie the game.
New York outshot the Bruins 14-10 in the frame but surrendered a multi-goal lead for the 15th time this season.
After the Islanders started the third with a push, New York was rewarded with a power play. After a silent first 90 seconds, Mike Reilly made a strong keep-in at the blue line and passed to Brock Nelson on the right side. Nelson dotted a pass to Horvat in the bumper spot, who made no mistake to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead at 5:08 of the final frame.
Nelson’s primary helper gives him a three-game point streak, with a goal and three assists in that span.
The Islanders almost had the lead evaporate at 9:49 of the frame, as Brad Marchand won a battle in front against Anders Lee, despite a delayed penalty. However, the puck was directed in with his hand, taking the goal off the board and sending Boston to the power play.
With Boston’s man advantage back on the ice, the Bruins made it three-for-three. After the Bruins won a puck battle on the boards, Kevin Shattenkirk came up with the puck at the left point. The Islanders’ kill couldn’t get reset in time for van Riemsdyk to tip a puck past Sorokin, tying the game at three at 10:48.
After another Boston penalty, the Islanders’ power play had an answer. After Barzal and Horvat tried to work a bumper spot connection, Nelson cleaned up the rebound off the back boards, giving the Islanders the lead back at 12:01 on his 13th of the year. Horvat’s assist was his third point of the night.
With the Islanders looking to close it out, Boston got a bounce off a broken play. After Julien Gauthier was taken down in the left corner with no call, Mason Lohrei banked a puck off the back of Sorokin, tying the game with 3:09 remaining in the third.
Despite several defensive zone turnovers and big rebounds by Sorokin, the Islander power play got one more chance. David Pastrnak was called for tripping Kyle Palmieri with 17 seconds remaining in regulation. However, after a scoreless remainder of regulation, the Islanders couldn’t make the most of the ensuing four-on-three in overtime. After both teams got looks, neither team could find the winner.
Both teams recorded four shots in the extra session.
In the shootout, Horvat and Jake DeBrusk traded scoreless shots in the first round. After Barzal couldn’t elevate his attempt in the top of the second, Charlie Coyle beat Sorokin over the left shoulder to give Boston a 1-0 lead. With the game on the line, Holmstrom beat Ullmark with a similar move, going forehand-backhand before roofing it to tie the shootout.
However, Pastrnak got the call for the Bruins in the bottom of the third, and the league’s premier goal scorer did not miss. He ripped a puck past the glove of Sorokin, finishing off a 5-4 shootout win.
UP NEXT: Islanders head to Montreal to battle the Canadiens Saturday night at 7 PM.
LINES:
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson -- Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc-- Robert Bortuzzo
Mike Reilly -- Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov