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Boston, MA. - April 15: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins looks up at the replay as David Pastrnak #88, Mike Reilly #6, Patrice Bergeron #37 and Connor Clifton #75 celebrate MarchandÕs goal during the first period of the NHL game against the New York Islanders at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Charlie Coyle #13 of the Boston Bruins gets his stick into the face of Adam Pelech #3 of the New York Islanders during the first period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Fans watch as Jakub Zboril #67 of the Boston Bruins and Jean-Gabriel Pageau #44 of the New York Islanders collide into the boards during the first period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Jake DeBrusk #74 of the Boston Bruins tries to get one past Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders during the first period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Charlie McAvoy #73 and David Krejci #46 of the Boston Bruins celebrates Craig SmithÕs #12 goal during the first period of the NHL game against the New York Islanders at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Mike Reilly #6 of the Boston Bruins looks back at Anthony Beauvillier #18 of the New York Islanders during the first period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Brock Nelson #29 of the New York Islanders trips over Tuukka Rask #40 and Connor Clifton #75 of the Boston Bruins during the first period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Brad Marchand #63 of the Boston Bruins looks up at the replay as David Pastrnak #88, Mike Reilly #6, Patrice Bergeron #37 and Connor Clifton #75 celebrate MarchandÕs goal during the first period of the NHL game against the New York Islanders at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Connor Clifton #75 of the Boston Bruins helps out Tuukka Rask #40 after the net fell on him during the second period of the NHL game against the New York Islanders at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins lands Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders into his bench during the second period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Patrice Bergeron #37 of the Boston Bruins celebrates Taylor Hall #71 first goal with the Bruins during the third period of the NHL game against the New York Islanders at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Tuukka Rask #40 of the Boston Bruins looks off as Nick Ritchie #21 stops Cal Clutterbuck #15 of the New York Islanders during the third period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Nick Ritchie #21 of the Boston Bruins falls as Charlie Coyle #13 and Casey Cizikas #53 of the New York Islanders chase the puck during the third period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Connor Clifton #75 of the Boston Bruins checks Jean-Gabriel Pageau #44 of the New York Islanders into the boards during the third period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask makes a save during the third period against the New York Islanders at TD Garden on Thursday, April 15, 2021 in Boston, Mass. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
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Boston, MA. - April 15: Taylor Hall #71 of the Boston Bruins scores his first goal as a Bruin off of Semyon Varlamov #40 of the New York Islanders during the third period of the NHL game at the TD garden on April 15, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
Yes, Bruins fans, your team can indeed beat the New York Islanders. And when they play like they did on Thursday night at the Garden, they can do it quite impressively.
After losing the first five matchups against the Islanders, the B’s got an early lead and this time never relinquished it, capturing a 4-1 victory and giving Tuukka Rask a rather easy time of it in his first full game since March 7.
The B’s took a 2-1 lead into the third period, where the Islanders had owned them in their five previous meetings. But this time, the B’s got a goal to extend the lead 1:52 into the period — and it came from a very welcome source. David Pastrnak sprung Taylor Hall for a partial breakaway. As defenseman Adam Pelech tried to cut him off on the left wing, Hall beat Semyon Varlamov through the pads for his first goal as a Bruin and just his third of the year.
From there, they choked the life out of the Islanders, playing most of the third in their zone until Brad Marchand scored an empty-net goal with 1:36 left.
The Bruins, who outshot the Isles 45-23, enjoyed one of their more dominant first periods of the season, outshooting the Islanders 23-7 and taking a 2-0 lead.
They went up 1-0 just 1:59 into the game on the kind of double-deflection goal that has so often been scored against them. Mike Reilly picked up his first point as a Bruin when his shot first deflected off Patrice Bergeron and then went off the back of Marchand past Varlamov.
The puck hit the camera in the back of the net and bounced quickly out. Marchand raised his arms in celebration but the play continued on. At the next stoppage, however, it was video reviewed and quickly ruled a goal.
The B’s seemed to be on the power play for most of the period as the Islanders took four minors. The B’s came up empty on the first two PPs as well as the truncated third — the first half of a Brock Nelson double-minor for high-sticking Reilly that nullified the Islanders only PP in the first. But with time running out on the fourth man-advantage, the B’s finally found the back of the net.
With Nick Ritchie providing a screen, David Krejci fed the hot Craig Smith in the bumper and beat Varlamov with his 10th of the season that the goalie didn’t see until it was too late.
But the Islanders had spotted the B’s a 2-0 lead the last time they were at the Garden on March 25 and came back to win that game in overtime. And true to form, the Islanders showed up for the second. They had several chances to get on the board on the first couple of shifts but just missed the net.
They did, however, draw within a goal at 2:56. Marchand had intercepted a puck on the backcheck but almost immediately coughed it up to Jordan Eberle, who got the puck down low to Mathew Barzal. The crafty centerman went behind the net and made a nice spin move to feed it out front to new Islander Travis Zajac, who buried it past Rask.
Both teams had their moments in the second, and each had a power play, but the score remained 2-1 going into the third. In their five meetings prior to Thursday’s game, the Islanders owned the B’s in the third, and that’s where they won those games.
from Boston Herald https://ift.tt/3mT8VTP
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