After nearly a week off after dispatching of the Capitals in five tidy games, the Bruins opened up their second round playoff series with the Islanders tonight at a sold-out TD Garden (!!!). Boston did not look too rusty though in front of their biggest crowd in over a year as they used a strong third period to propel them to a 5-2 victory behind star David Pastrnak's second career playoff hat trick. The B's nearly doubled the Isles in shots on goal (40-22) and that constant pressure finally got to New York's rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin (35 saves). The black and gold won their fifth straight game overall as they dropped Game 1 to Washington but so far, that's been their only loss in this postseason.
The regular season has little to do with this but we have to note that the Islanders won the first five meetings with the Bruins in 2021 before Boston took the final three. This made it four victories in a row for the B's against a very worthy second-round opponent who beat the Penguins in six games in their first-round series. The East Division foes traded leads as New York scored first in the first period before Boston answered; the Bruins took a 2-1 lead in the second period and then the Islanders responded. The third period is what separated them as the home team scored twice and then added an empty-net goal for good measure.
Both tallies in the first period came on the power play as Isles left wing Anthony Beauvillier tipped in a shot from the point by defenseman Noah Dobson at 11:48. Right wing Jordan Eberle had the other assist on Beauvillier's team-leading fourth goal of the playoffs. Pastrnak tied it late in the frame as Sorokin kicked a big rebound right to him and he waited for a second before snapping it in. Centers David Krejci and Patrice Bergeron had the assists on Pasta's third goal of the postseason (3-game goal streak) at 19:36. Boston took its first lead midway through the second period as once again Pastrnak was able to corral a rebound and fire it in past a diving Sorokin. Bergeron and left wing Brad Marchand notched the assists at 11:08. It was not 2-1 Bruins for long though as Islanders defenseman Adam Pelech unleashed a bomb from the point that went top shelf past a stunned Tuukka Rask (20 saves) at 12:34. Eberle and left wing Leo Komarov picked up the assists on Pelech's first goal of the postseason.
Ironically, even though it was Pastrnak's night, Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy scored the game-winning goal at 6:20 of the third period. His low but hard shot from distance found its way through traffic for his first goal of the playoffs, assisted by Krejci. You had a feeling that Pasta was going to get a hat trick and he finished the job with a pretty move using Taylor Hall as a screen to fire in a wrist shot at 15:50 for the 4-2 Bruins lead. Speaking of Hall, he had the last goal-of the empty-net variety-at 18:35. Krejci and defenseman Mike Reilly notched the helpers on Hall's third goal of the playoffs.
Game 2 is on Monday night (7:30, NBCSN) and I think it is almost a given that the Isles will play better. They were very lucky to be tied this evening headed into the third period since the Bruins had outshot them by a wide margin (30-12). The major questions will be if their offense can match Boston's and perhaps most importantly, Sorokin has to be better with his rebound control. Rask was not great but he did not have to be. Late in Game 1, New York clearly tried to target Pastrnak physically to send a message moving forward that it won't be that easy anymore. He has seven points (5 goals, 2 assists) in his last three games going back to Games 4 and 5 vs. Washington so he's on fire right now with multiple points in each of those tilts. Can the Islanders contain the Bruins' top line? We shall see but Game 2 is an important one since being up 2-0 in a series is a much different story than being tied 1-1. The one injury from Game 1 was to Bruins right wing Craig Smith who left in the second period (lower-body) after an awkward collision with Islanders goon Cal Clutterbuck and never returned. If he can't suit up on Monday, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy will need to find a replacement for his second line.
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