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 Coming to Barclays Center for a third game in four days against the
New York Islanders, who had the previous two days off, didn't appear
to be a recipe for success, but the Bruins made it work.
Goaltender Tuukka Rask stopped 36 shots as the Bruins held off a
late charge by the Islanders to snap a three-game losing streak and
win 2-1 on Sunday.
The Bruins allowed a power-play goal -- a 5-on-3 tally by defenseman
Johnny Boychuk late in the third period -- but shut down the
Islanders' six other chances with the man-advantage. Four of those
six chances occurred in the third period as the Bruins appeared to
grow fatigued, but Rask was there to salvage the victory.
It was a welcome sight for a goaltender that entered Sunday with an
.879 save percentage and a team that ranked 30th in penalty killing.
"Give him credit -- he played really well for us tonight," Bruins
coach Claude Julien said. "He made the saves when we really needed
them. Our guys in front responded well for their third game in four
nights. There were a lot of challenges today and we didn't use them
as excuses."
It's nearly impossible to deliver a complete effort over 60 minutes
against a team that's rested and playing at home, but the Bruins
were the much better team during the first two periods.
Center Ryan Spooner put the Bruins ahead 1-0 with seven minutes
remaining in the first period. The Bruins took advantage of an
extended 5-on-3 advantage when Patrice Bergeron, a center working
the point, moved the puck down low to center David Krejci. He found
Spooner with a cross-crease pass for a goal that gave the Bruins a
lead they wouldn't relinquish.
Bergeron doubled the lead with 5:47 left in the second period when
his long shot caromed off bodies in front of goaltender Jaroslav
Halak and into the net.
Rask had to be strong over the rest of the period, as a shot by left
winger Taylor Beck glanced off the post and right winger Cal
Clutterbuck was denied on a breakaway.
Even with the Islanders tilting the ice in the third period -- they
had a 13-6 advantage in shots -- the Bruins did enough to keep the
door shut.
"(Rask) was making big saves for us," Bruins captain Zdeno Chara
said. "But all 20 of our guys were sharp, ready to play, ready to
battle. That was a big game for us after yesterday's game and all
the travel and late night checking, it was not an easy game. But I
thought we really handled it well. We were working extremely hard. I
thought that was a very big character win.".
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The Islanders, meanwhile, have lost five of six and scored nine
goals during the skid.
"You shoot pucks, you score goals," Islanders coach Jack Capuano
said. "For whatever reason, we wanted to be on the perimeter. You're
not going to win games like that."
"When you're not scoring, it's frustrating," Islanders center John
Tavares said. "You've got to work through it, that's all you can
do."
The Bruins will embark on a five-game homestand starting Thursday,
and if Rask and the penalty kill are rounding into form, good things
could be on the horizon in Boston.
"It's a great two points, especially after a tough road trip like we
just had," Bergeron said. "It was important for us to show up and
bring out a solid effort, being composed and bringing not just a
good start of a game but sustaining that for the full 60 no matter
what was happening on the ice.
"I thought we did a good job of that."
NOTES: Bruins D Dennis Seidenberg (back), RW David Pastrnak (foot)
and LW Chris Kelly (leg) were all out with injuries. ... The Bruins'
healthy scratches were D Joe Morrow and RW Tyler Randell. ...
Islanders LW Josh Bailey was a healthy scratch. Coach Jack Capuano
cited defensive lapses as the reason for Bailey watching from the
press box. Bailey was replaced by LW Taylor Beck, who made his
Islanders debut. .... The Islanders were without LW Eric Boulton
(lower body) and D Thomas Hickey (lower body)
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