Bruins Beat Islanders 3-2 In Overtime, Lock In Third Seed & First Round Matchup With Capitals

 

    Coming into tonight's regular season home finale vs. the Islanders (32-17-7 overall, 11-13-4 away), all that the Bruins (33-15-7 overall, 18-7-3 home) needed to clinch the third seed in the East Division was a single point. Boston got the job done by winning 3-2 in overtime thanks to a brilliant backhander by left wing Taylor Hall. The Capitals (35-15-5 overall, 16-8-3 home) are the No. 2 seed from the East Division so that's who the B's will face in the first round of the playoffs, starting on Saturday night (7:15, NBC). I don't think that the black and gold could have picked a more difficult opponent to see right off the bat than Washington but here we are. 

    The Bruins completed the regular season series with the Islanders sporting a .500 record of 3-3-2. This evening was another reminder what a complete steal Hall was from the Sabres (15-34-7). He opened the scoring with a sweet one-timer from center David Krejci and left wing Brad Marchand at 19:21 of the first period. Hall's ninth goal of the season was on the power play and it was from a tough angle since he received the pass basically parallel to the goal line. Maine native and BC's Oliver Wahlstrom tied it with a one-timer and power play tally of his own at 1:38 of the second period. His 12th goal of the season was assisted by center Mathew Barzal and defenseman Nick Leddy.

    Boston took a 2-1 lead later in the frame as Marchand re-directed a pass from Krejci at 6:15. His team-leading 29th goal of the season was also assisted by right wing David Pastrnak. Barzal is a great offensive talent that often gets overlooked on a team that generally struggles to put the puck in the net. He tied it with a sweet top shelf wrist shot over Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask's (16 saves, 15-5-2) shoulder at 8:31. His 17th goal of the season was assisted by defenseman Ryan Pulock and left wing Anthony Beauvillier.

    Isles head coach Barry Trotz pulled their starting goaltender Semyon Varlamov (25 saves) after the second period supposedly with a minor injury. Hall's overtime goal was another one of those instances where it has to be a very short list of Bruins teammates that could have successfully made a similar type play. He took a nothing drop pass from Krejci at center ice, zoomed by center Casey Cizikas, put the puck through Leddy's legs (!!!) then fired a powerful backhander past backup goalie Ilya Sorokin (10 saves). Defenseman Mike Reilly had the second assist on one of the best goals of the year in the NHL. Holy smokes, if I was B's GM Don Sweeney I would have had a contract extension written up for Hall and placed in his locker by the time he got done with his postgame interviews.

    Just by luck (and of course the pandemic), the last game of the regular season takes Boston to DC tomorrow night (7, NESNplus) where they will take on Washington in a completely meaningless dress rehearsal. The better question is will the Bruins remain there for Games 1 and 2 or return home only to go back again in a few days? We'll have to wait and see about that travel plan which is surely more interesting than what should amount to a preseason game in May with all the healthy scratch and taxi squad guys in the lineups for both clubs. It is also rookie goaltender Jeremy Swayman's last chance to impress Boston's head coach Bruce Cassidy, granted I'm pretty certain that he's already won the No. 2 goaltender position for the playoffs.

The Bruins Welcome Back Fans By Blowing A 2-0 Lead & Losing 4-3 In Overtime To The Islanders

 

    Tonight was a big moment for the Bruins (16-8-5) and Boston sports as they welcomed back fans (12% capacity) at the TD Garden for the first time in over a year. Naturally, this being the B's they treated them to a gut-wrenching loss as they built an early 2-0 lead only to blow it and eventually lose 4-3 in overtime to the Islanders (22-8-4) on left wing Anthony Beauvillier's easy tap-in goal. Yes, even with some fans cheering for them in the stands, the Bruins still can't figure out how to beat the Isles, they are 0-3-2 against them this season with three regular season meetings left to go. 

    After a week off because of a Covid-19 outbreak on the team, the Bruins returned to the ice with center Sean Kuraly and left wing Jake DeBrusk remaining on the NHL's Covid list. They couldn't have dreamed of a better first period as they scored twice with both goals coming from the unlikeliest of players. Right wing Karson Kuhlman fired the puck on net from almost against the side wall and it worked as Isles goaltender Semyon Varlamov (29 saves, 14-6-3) couldn't find it through a bunch of traffic. Kuhlman's first goal of the season was assisted by defenseman Charlie McAvoy and left wing Anders Bjork at 11:42. Boston doubled their lead as defenseman Steven Kampfer blasted in a one-timer for a power play goal at 17:35. McAvoy and center David Krejci provided the helpers on Kampfer's first goal of the season. 

    Playing in his first game since March 7, Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (6 saves) lasted for one whole frame before we suspect that his back injury that took him out of action earlier flared up again. Boston only termed it an "upper-body injury" which is always so helpful in figuring out what's actually going on. New York took advantage of Rask being out and backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak (17 saves, 7-4-3) being pressed into duty on short notice. Bruins killer Jean-Gabriel Pageau got his team on the board at 7:21 of the second period by finishing a pretty passing play with defenseman Scott Mayfield and right wing Leo Komarov who I believe currently lives on waivers every single day. That was the 11th goal of the season for the Islanders center and former Senator. 

    Boston led 2-1 going into the third period but that didn't last for too long as right wing Josh Bailey skated down the slot and fired a shot past Halak at 4:33 to tie it at two. Nelson and defenseman Nick Leddy had the assists on Bailey's fifth goal of the season. Things looked grim for the Black and Gold when Maine native and BC's Oliver Wahlstrom flipped in a backhander at 17:04 for the 3-2 advantage. Pageau and Beauvillier got the assists on the rookie right wing's ninth goal of the season. 54 seconds after that, it was tied again as Bjork knocked in a pretty pass from center Charlie Coyle. Right wing Chris Wagner had the other assist on Bjork's second goal of the season. 

    Overtime only took a grand total of 21 seconds (I hope that you didn't get up to get a drink or food before it started) and the B's never really touched the puck as the Isles won the opening face-off, skated behind their own net then blew past the retreating Bruins. Leddy's initial shot was stopped by Halak but he left the puck right on the goal-line where Beauvillier used his speed to get to it first and knock in the juicy rebound. Leddy and Pageau notched the assists on Beauvillier's fifth goal of the season. 

    Boston missed its rematch with Buffalo last Saturday but never fear since they face the awful Sabres (losers of their last 16 games!) on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN) at the Garden. You can't make up all the stuff that has happened to Buffalo this season but tonight's latest chapter in their misery was the new head coach Don Granato and his assistant Matt Ellis were both ruled out from tonight's game against Pittsburgh due to Covid so the GM Kevyn Adams was in the strange position of being the head coach for a night. Eventually, Buffalo is going to win another game (maybe?) this season and you desperately don't want to be on the wrong end of that NHL equivalent of a solar eclipse. Nothing less than two points against the Sabres is ever acceptable at this juncture.

UPDATE 3/26/21: Rask is out for at least both games this weekend. 

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.