Tied Going Into The 3rd Period, The Bruins Epically Collapse Vs. Isles & Fall To 0-3 Against NY In 2021

 

    What is it about the Islanders (10-6-3) that has caused so many problems for the Bruins (11-4-2) early this season? For the third time in 2021, Boston visited Nassau Coliseum and they left with an ugly 7-2 loss that dropped them to 0-3 against New York during this campaign. Things looked promising as Boston scored first and then tied it at two in the second period before falling apart in Celtics-like fashion in a trainwreck of a final frame. The B's have only lost four times in regulation so far this season and three of those have come against the Isles. Boston will get five more chances (including four at TD Garden) to beat New York but regardless of how those turn out, this is not a club that they want to see in the playoffs. 

    Left wing Nick Ritchie staked Boston to a 1-0 lead just 1:02 into regulation. Like most of his goals, this one came by sitting next to the net and simply re-directing a pass. Defenseman Jakub Zboril and center Charlie Coyle had the assists on Ritchie's seventh goal of the season. 1-0 was the only lead of the night for the Bruins and it fittingly didn't last long as New York defenseman Adam Pelech put in a rebound at 3:16 to tie it (his 1st goal of the season was unassisted) and center Mathew Barzal sniped a shot past Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (30 saves, 4-2-1) at 12:39. Defenseman Nick Leddy and goaltender Semyon Varlamov (34 saves, 9-4-2) had the assists on Barzal's seventh goal of the season. 

    Boston had the lone goal in the second period as right wing Craig Smith worked his way into New York's defensive zone and tried to feed it in front to rookie center Jack Studnicka but the puck instead deflected off an Islanders defenseman's stick and past Varlamov. Smith's fourth goal of the season came at 11:36 and it was assisted by right wing Jake DeBrusk and rookie Urho Vaakanainen. The Isles aren't known for an explosive offense but you could have fooled me with their absurd third period barrage of five unanswered goals. It all started when left wing Anthony Beauvillier stole the puck from rookie left wing Trent Frederic close to Halak and used a backhander to put in the go-ahead goal at 5:41. Another odd-man rush led to an insurance tally for the home team as right wing Jordan Eberle beat Halak up high at 10:45. His eighth goal of the season was assisted by Barzal and left wing Anders Lee. The wheels officially fell off for the Black and Gold at 12:24 as center Jean-Gabriel Pageau got a shorthanded breakaway and put the puck through Halak's five-hole. His eighth goal of the season was assisted by Pelech and it gave the Isles a 5-2 lead as Halak understandably smashed his stick (and broke the blade off) against one of the helpless goal posts. 

    Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy had no choice but to leave Halak out to dry since Boston has a game tomorrow (7, NESN) against the Rangers (6-8-3) at Madison Square Garden and he already confirmed before tonight's game that Tuukka Rask would start in NYC. Lee and BC's Oliver Wahlstrom-the rare Maine native in the NHL-rounded out the scoring for the Isles. The Bruins have dropped three of their last four games overall so the Rangers feel like the perfect antidote to help them get back untracked. The B's also take on the Rangers in a rare Sunday afternoon matinee (12, NBC) so hopefully they can win both installments just like they did two weeks ago in the Big Apple. The Rangers are 3-5-2 at home while the Bruins are 6-3-2 on the road after tonight's defeat in Long Island.

Karma Has Caught Up to the Bruins Over the Last Few Weeks As They Drop Another Winnable Game

When the Bruins (21-7-8) got off to such an unexpectedly great start to this season, one of the main reasons was that they kept finding ways to pull out wins and points from games that they probably should have lost. The exact opposite has happened lately as they have lost seven of their last eight games, including a 3-2 setback to the Islanders (23-8-2) in a shootout tonight at TD Garden. By the way, can the B's just refuse to play in overtime (where they are 2-3 this season) or especially in shootouts (where they fell to an unfathomable 0-5 in 2019-20)? Anything past regulation for them seems like a waste of their time.

Like their 4-3 overtime loss to the Kings (15-18-4) on Tuesday that kicked off this four-game homestand before Christmas, the Bruins dominated the Islanders in terms of shot attempts (62-45) but putting them on net was another story as they had 19 blocked and 14 missed the net so they only registered eight more shots on goal (29-21) than New York. Furthermore, Boston scored first as Anders Bjork had a wrist shot that went top shelf on Semyon Varlamov (27 saves, 12-3-2) at 1:58 of the first period. Charlie Coyle (his first point in 8 games) had the lone assist on Bjork's fifth goal of the season. The B's nearly doubled their lead as Danton Heinen's redirect on a power play went off the post. The teams combined for a sleepy seven shots on goal (4-3 Isles) in the first 20 minutes, yawn.

The low-scoring, tight-checking style favored the Islanders and they grabbed a lead with a pair of goals in the second period. Old friend Johnny Boychuk tied it with a blast from the point (I'm assuming that NESN's maniac announcer Jack Edwards called it a Johnny Rocket for old time's sake) that beat former teammate Tuukka Rask (19 saves, 13-4-5) at 3:26. Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee had the assists on Boychuk's second goal of the season. Varlamov made two huge stops in that frame, including a spectacular diving glove save on Bjork's one-timer followed by a save on Jake DeBrusk's breakaway. As those things seem to often go in hockey, New York took advantage on the other end as Mathew Barzal ripped in a sweet cross-ice feed from Boychuk (his first multi-point game of the season, because of course) at 18:26. It was Barzal's team-leading 14th goal of the season.

Boston has been a great third period team so far this season and this evening was no exception. Boston's power play had been 0-for-3 but when they got a two-man advantage, they came through with a pretty goal by Torey Krug. David Krejci and David Pastrnak (3 goals, 4 assists in his last 6 games) provided the helpers on his fifth goal of the season. There was a scary moment for everybody involved when Patrice Bergeron's errant skate (he was falling to the ice) appeared to graze Cal Clutterbuck's wrist. The rugged Islanders fourth line winger quickly skated off the ice and went down the tunnel to their dressing room. After the game, New York's excellent head coach Barry Trotz reported that Clutterbuck went to the hospital "to get stitched up."

For all the excitement that was mostly lacking in the first 60 minutes, overtime made up for it despite not featuring a game-winning goal for either club. Brad Marchand wheeled around New York's net but his shot was stopped by Varlamov and he later had a backhander skid wide. Pastrnak also crushed a patented one-timer from the slot that Varlamov had to look behind himself to find but he had stopped it. On the other end, Lee was stopped by Rask after a nifty feed from Barzal. Quinnipiac's Devon Toews had a breakaway in the closing seconds but the puck rolled off the defenseman's stick.

The Isles might not score a ton of goals but they have plenty of skilled guys who obviously thrive in the overtime (6-2) and shootout (3-0) formats unlike the Bruins. Eberle and Barzal both scored on New York's first two attempts before Rask stopped Josh Bailey's possible game-winner. For Boston, Coyle hit a post, Pastrnak scored but then Marchand was stuffed to end it. I'm sure that some frustration is naturally creeping into the heads of many Bruins. They have been playing in all these close games lately but coming up on the wrong end of most of them. Surprisingly, it isn't hurting them in the Atlantic Division standings where they still sit 11 points ahead of second-place Buffalo (16-13-7) and 12 points ahead of third-place Tampa Bay (17-12-4) who has three games in hand.

At the moment, the Predators (16-12-6) are two points behind Calgary (18-14-4) for the second Wild Card in the Western Conference. They are also six points behind Dallas (20-12-4) in the loaded Central Division so the Wild Card is probably their best bet into the playoffs this season. Saturday's meeting with Boston is the finale of Nashville's four-game road trip before they head home to host Arizona (20-12-4) on Monday. The Bruins have their own first-place team looming on Monday-the Capitals (24-6-5)-so that contest should be quite meaningful to both teams. Nashville lost 5-4 in overtime in Ottawa (15-18-3) earlier tonight so they were no doubt disappointed in that result and will want a better performance vs. Boston. And yes, Patriots-Bills starts at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon meaning that you'll need to get B's-Preds up on your computer unless you are a master of the remote control.

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Bruins Win Their 1st Shootout of the Season, 2-1 vs. Islanders Thanks to Marchand, Rask & Donato

With a lineup that has been absolutely decimated by injuries, odds are that the Bruins (14-7-4) aren't going to set the NHL on fire in terms of goal-scoring anytime soon. However, Bruce Cassidy's mentally tough group still keeps finding ways to win as they showed in Thursday's 2-1 shootout victory vs. Islanders (12-9-4) at TD Garden. Tuukka Rask (6-4-2) made 29 saves-including six in overtime-as Boston outlasted New York in its first shootout appearance of 2018-19.

Rask's comeback story is an easy one to identify (even if we'll never know what the real issue for him was) but these two points were also courtesy of rookie forward Ryan Donato who was recalled from Providence on Wednesday. In his first game with the B's in nearly a month (10/30 at Carolina), he managed to score the lone goal for either side in four rounds of the shootout.

As you would expect from a tilt that featured only two goals in 65 minutes of action, there really wasn't too much to talk about from regulation and overtime. Anders Lee had the goal for the Isles that made it 1-0 at 12:17 of the first period. Rask stopped the first shot from last season's Rookie of the Year Mathew Barzal but left the rebound on the doorstep for the Notre Dame product to knock it in for his eighth goal of the season. Defenseman Scott Mayfield had the second assist on what turned out to be New York's only real highlight of the contest.

Both teams only had one power play for the entire game and while the Bruins were able to hold off the Islanders terrible power play (ranked 24th in the NHL) in the second period, the same couldn't be said for Boston's excellent man-advantage (ranked 3rd in the NHL) which cashed in its only chance a few moments later. Torey Krug started the play but David Pastrnak did most of the leg work by beating an Islander in their offensive zone then dishing a backhand pass right on the money to Brad Marchand who smacked in the one-timer at 12:09 of the second. It was Marchand's seventh goal of the season, fittingly also his first in the past seven games (how much does he miss his best buddy Patrice Bergeron?).

The B's probably should have won without needing overtime or a shootout as they outshot the Isles 34-23 through three periods. Still, Barry Trotz's (it's so weird to see him leave the Capitals for this middling franchise) team dominated the extra session as they outshot the home team 6-2 but couldn't convert on two breakaways. New York even had a goal waved off (and held up under review) after one of their players interfered with Rask in the crease. For a team that's seen many similar calls go against them this year, the Black and Gold were happy that at least that one didn't flip on them.

Barzal, Brock Nelson, Valtteri Filppula (playing in his 900th NHL game) and Josh Bailey were all stopped by Rask in the shootout. Jake DeBrusk and Pasta couldn't beat Lehner while Marchand failed at his opportunity to end it. No matter as Donato ended a long night (that began with Rick Middleton's #16 going to the rafters) with a nifty (get it?!) backhander along the ice. The Garden was not nearly full anymore when that happened (it was a school night after all) but those that stuck around were treated to a nice moment for a local guy trying to make his mark.

Saturday night (7, NESN) will already be the third meeting of the season between the Bruins and Red Wings (11-11-3). Boston destroyed them 8-2 here on October 13 then fell 3-2 in overtime in Detroit on the night before Thanksgiving. No matter who is in or out for the B's, I still feel confident that they can find a way to beat the mediocre at best Wings. Boston defensemen Brandon Carlo (upper body) and Charlie McAvoy (concussion) appear close to returning and it sounds like the former could play against Detroit.

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Don't Look Now Gang but the B's Improved to 8-2-0 in Their Last 10 Games After a 3-1 Win vs. NYI

Now that the Bruins (14-9-4) finally have close to a full roster back, something is becoming abundantly clear: they are actually a good team. They hosted a quality opponent at TD Garden tonight-the Islanders (16-10-3)-and came away with a playoff-like 3-1 win. Boston is 8-2-0 in its last 10 games, tied with Washington (18-11-1) and Vegas (18-9-1) for the best current stretch, keep in mind that Los Angeles (19-8-3) has won seven games in a row and they just began their game this evening vs. Carolina (11-10-6) so they could top all of them by the end of the night.

Bigger picture, none of this would have been possible without Tuukka Rask (7-8-2) remembering who he was and how he could still consistently perform in the NHL. He was named the first star of the game after making 30 mostly routine saves. He has won his last four starts and in the last five games (he appeared in relief for Anton Khudobin on Monday in Nashville), he has allowed just five goals with a 1.10 goals against average and .955 save percentage. As Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy alluded to after the contest, the Black and Gold are at their best when Rask brings his A-game.

After a sleepy and scoreless first period, Bruins rookie Jake DeBrusk brought some energy to the Garden as he dropped the gloves for his first NHL fight with Islanders forward Casey Cizikas. Charlie McAvoy had been rocked by a clean Cizikas hit which still led to DeBrusk taking exception to it. Somewhere his dad-former NHL goon Louie DeBrusk-must have smiled and cracked his burly knuckles. New York had come in 10-0-0 when they scored the first goal so the Bruins were smart to grab the first tally. Brad Marchand (5-game point streak) scored a somewhat weak power play goal that Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak (30 saves) should have squeezed his pads tighter on. Torey Krug and David Pastrnak (8-game point streak) assisted on Marchand's 11th goal of the season.

Between an instigator penalty, not to mention his fighting major and 10-minute misconduct, DeBrusk had to ride an exercise bike in the Bruins' locker room for an excessive amount of time. No worries though as he potted a huge insurance goal at 6:45 of the third period. With his back to the Islanders goal, he spun around and fired a hard, high shot for his sixth goal of the season. Just like before, Krug and Pastrnak had the helpers. All that was missing from a Gordie Howe hat trick was an assist but sadly, it would have to wait for another time. Rask looked poised to notch his second shutout of the week but New York scored right after a power play had ended for them. Anders Lee (17th goal of the season) tapped in a feed from Josh Bailey (27th assist!) & gifted rookie Mathew Barzal at 16:52 to cut it to 2-1 B's. Rookie Danton Heinen sealed it for Boston with an empty-netter at 19:18, his sixth goal of the season was assisted by Patrice Bergeron (5 assists in his last 4 games).

There were two interesting penalties called on the Bruins in the third period: Marchand was tagged with a five-minute major for interference on his Team Canada homie John Tavares and David Backes apparently head-butted Andrew Ladd which also resulted in an obscure five-minute major. Marchand's hit was high and pretty iffy so given his checkered past with dirty plays, I wouldn't be surprised if he hears from the league about it. As far as Backes, nobody (outside of the refs) really noticed what had transpired along the boards and needless to say, that would be very out of character for a tough but honest player like himself.

This is a very favorable stretch for the Bruins in terms of tons of home games (6 of their remaining 10 tilts in December are here) where they currently own a 9-4-2 record. They earned a day off from practice tomorrow and they'll be back at Warrior Ice Arena for practice on Monday as they get ready for Wednesday's (8, NBC Sports) "Rivalry Night" matchup in Detroit (11-13-5). The Red Wings are still the definition of mediocre so that's a contest that they should win. On Thursday (7, NESN) they host the Capitals which promises to be a much harder battle. They close out next week against the Rangers (16-11-2) on Saturday (5, NESN) at the Garden. After such a turbulent start to the campaign, the B's are settling in nicely as a team and the mix of so many young guys and notable veterans is beginning to yield many positive results.

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Ugh, the Bruins Continue to Pathetically Fold at TD Garden Against the NHL's Worst Teams

Question: how many last-place teams can come into TD Garden in a short amount of time and all leave here with wins? Answer: three (Colorado, Toronto and Islanders). Tonight, Boston (17-14-3) spotted New York (12-14-6) a 3-0 lead in the second period before they finally decided to show a pulse in the third period. By that time it was too late as the Islanders snapped a five-game losing streak (0-4-1) to take the 4-2 decision. It was a nice homecoming for two former Bruins defensemen: Dennis Seidenberg (playing in his first game back in Boston since signing with NY in September) and Johnny Boychuk were both a game-high +2.

Tuukka Rask (16-6-3) has been stellar all season so I guess he was due for an off-night of sorts. He was victimized by two fluky goals and ended up getting pulled for the first time since April 3, 2015 (at Chicago). He finished with 10 saves and three goals allowed. Anton Khudobin made 15 saves in his appearance that began at 13:42 of the second period. He actually picked up his first career NHL point (an assist) but he allowed an Islanders power play goal in the third period that effectively closed the curtain on this one. New York goaltender Thomas Greiss (7-5-0) made a career-high 48 saves as Boston had a season-high 50 shots on goal (95 shot attempts!).

The B's hadn't played since Sunday afternoon's 1-0 win vs. LA, so they were sitting around at home since then and thus there really is no valid excuse for coming out so slow once again. Rask and Brad Marchand ran into each other behind Boston's net, allowing Anders Lee to knock in an early Christmas present at 3:05 of the first period. Lee's team-leading 11th goal of the season was unassisted. Another rare mistake happened a few moments later as Patrice Bergeron got caught up ice, leaving New York with a 3-on-1. Thomas Hickey beat Rask glove-side with a shot at 5:40 for a 2-0 lead. Josh Bailey and Lee had the assists on Hickey's tally.

Boston's offense had two near misses in the second period as Patrice Bergeron and Austin Czarnik each hit the crossbar in quick succession. New York took a commanding 3-0 lead at 6:18 on yet another bizarre strike. Boychuk dumped the puck in Boston's zone, it bounced off the end boards (and eluded Kevan Miller's stick) before Rask got handcuffed by it on the goal-line. Nikolay Kulemin was there to smack it in for his fourth goal of the season.

As we all predicted, Bruins rookie Anton Blidh sparked the comeback attempt when his centering pass intended for goal-machine Jimmy Hayes deflected by Greiss off of Islanders defenseman Nick Leddy's skate. The first goal of Blidh's NHL career was assisted by Brandon Carlo and Khudobin just 3:04 into the third. After rightfully booing the Bruins off the ice to end the second, the Garden crowd finally had something to cheer about and they really got loud for a few minutes after Dominic Moore tipped in Zdeno Chara's shot from the point at 7:12. Moore's eighth goal of the season was also assisted by Hayes (his 1st helper of the season).

New York head coach Jack Capuano (a Rhode Islander) sensed his team falling apart and smartly took his timeout to settle them down. It worked as they were able to hold off the Bruins and get the insurance goal they needed when Lee received another easy tap-in at 13:02. Khudobin lost the puck in his pads with the assists going to Bailey and Leddy. Boston ended up outshooting New York 23-9 in the third. It seemed like they had a power play (a good one though, not theirs) for almost the entire 20 minutes and they put tons of pressure on the Isles but they never completely cracked like you hoped that they would.

The good news for Boston is that they get to go on the road where they are much better (9-5-3) than at the Garden (8-9-0) so far in 2016-17. The B's are in Florida (15-13-5) on Thursday (7:30, NESN) before they wrap up things (sorry) before a brief Christmas break (Dec. 24-26) on Friday (7:30, NESN) in Carolina (13-11-7). Boston is clinging to third-place in the Atlantic Division, two points ahead of both the Lightning (16-14-3) and Panthers. Needless to say, Christmas will be much more enjoyable for the entire team if they can get three or four points on their mini-Southern road trip.

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