The New York Islanders take down the powerhouse Boston Bruins by a score of 7-2 tonight at Nassau Coliseum. The Islanders absolutely demolish the Bruins with an insane 5 goal 3rd period. Former Islander Jaroslav Halak started in net for the Boston Bruins, his first appearance against the Isles since leaving the team in 2018. One extremely bright spot about this game is youngster Oliver Wahlstrom. He played an incredibly strong game and was very noticeable on the ice. Although he had a slow start to his NHL career he has proven that he deserves a spot on this Islanders team. He is growing as a player and is gaining confidence with every game and that is evident in his play. He scored the Islanders final goal of the game, his second of the season.
"It's a big win because it's something we want to stay in the pack. You sit out a night and you fall out of the playoffs and you get a chance to play a very good team in Boston, get a win and hopefully we're back in the playoffs." -Barry Trotz
Although the Islanders won this game by a landslide it did not start that way. Nick Ritchie of the Boston Bruins got one past Isles goaltender Varlamov just 1:02 into the first period. Luckily the Islanders responded quickly with a goal from elite defenseman Adam Pelech, his first of the season. a goal from Mat Barzal quickly followed the Pelech tally and the Islanders were up 2-1 by the end of the first period. In the 2nd the Islanders were playing a very strong period, but unfortunately Craig Smith got one for the Bruins to tie the game at 2. It was an extremely tight game and at this point it was anyone's to take.
"But I did feel good about our group. Our group was pretty focused." -Barry Trotz
The Islanders come out of the gates very strong for the third. With Anthony Beauvillier getting a goal just 5:41 into the 3rd period. After Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle gets a wrist shot past Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak to put the Islanders ahead by 2. By then the Islanders had all of the momentum and just needed to play defensively to lock this one up. as you know that is definitely not what happened. Following the Eberle goal we see goals from Pageau,, Lee, and Wahlstrom. This was the highest scoring game of the season for the Islanders and was definitely an incredible win against the Bruins who have been close to perfect this season overall. With this win the Islanders Remain the only NHL team to not have a regulation loss at home. The Islanders will face the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday at Nassau Coliseum, looking to extend their win streak to three games.
