5 Takeaways: Islanders Bounce Bruins 7-2 with Late Push

When it rains it pours.
The New York Islanders poured on an onslaught of five third-period goals to soundly defeat the East Division-leading Boston Bruins 7-2 on Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum. With the win, the Islanders extended their season series lead over their East Division rivals to 3-0-0, their first time beating Boston three times in a season since 2006-07.
"The Bruins are, in a lot of ways, the gold standard, especially in the East," Head Coach Barry Trotz said postgame. "They've been a Presidents' Trophy team for a few years now. It's a big win because it's something we want to stay in the pack. You sit out a night and don't play and 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, I haven't looked at the standings. It's just a big mess of teams that are very equal in terms of talent and the standings, this will be a battle right to the end. Any points we can get right now we'll take."

The Islanders surge of goals was courtesy of first period tallies from Adam Pelech and Mathew Barzal and third-period strikes from Anthony Beauvillier, Jordan Eberle, Jean-Gabriel Pageau (shorthanded), Anders Lee and Oliver Wahlstrom. Semyon Varlamov backstopped the win with 34 saves, but most impressively recorded his first assist with the Islanders. The Islanders were able to execute a dominant performance with only 11 forwards for two periods after Cal Clutterbuck left the game in the first period.
The win was unfortunate for Boston netminder and former New York Islander Jaroslav Halak, who played at the Coliseum for the first time since April 25, 2015, in what was the original 'last game at the Coliseum' in Game 6 of the Islanders' First-Round exit to Washington in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Halak played the entirety of the game making 30 saves on 37 shots.

Here are five takeaways from the Islanders win:

TRIUMPHANT THIRD PERIOD:

After grinding away through two periods and 40 minutes of play, the Islanders and Bruins entered the third period at a 2-2 stalemate.
Whatever momentum the Bruins had procured at the end of the second period, where they had a 28-19 shot-on-goal advantage up until the point, was halted there. The Islanders not only claimed the go-ahead goal, but they unleashed the floodgates and smothered the Bruins with five goals in the third period to secure their 7-2 rout.
"I thought it was going to come right down to the end," Trotz said of the even score entering the third period. "But I did feel good about our group. Our group was pretty focused. We lost our focus in the second [period]. We started playing east-west instead of north-south. Boston checks too well and there were too many turnovers. We didn't have anything going on in the second period. We were fortunate that [Varlamov] came up with key saves at key times for us. It obviously turned really quick for us."
Beauvillier sparked the scoring as he scored the game-winner - and his first goal of the season - after making a cheeky steal off of Trent Frederic on the doorstep 5:41 into the period. It was a relief for the winger, who recently rejoined the lineup after missing nine games with a lower-body injury from Jan. 24-Feb. 16.

"We love seeing him smile and he loves scoring," Barzal said of Beauvillier's goal. "Whenever he gets one or a guy like that who hasn't had [a goal] yet gets one, that's a big boost for the bench."
The Islanders electric transition game intensified following Beauvillier's goal and their subsequent four goals in the period were converted on the fly. The Islanders scored four goals in a 5:48 span to blow the doors open.
Eberle got on the board at 10:45 roofing a feed from Barzal. Pageau scored his eighth goal of the season and his second shorthanded goal at 12:24 as he hauled up the ice while carrying the puck from the Islanders zone and zipped his shot over Halak's left shoulder. Pageau's goal came exactly a full-calendar year since the 28-year-old center scored his first goal in his Islanders' debut last year against the New York Rangers on Feb 25, 2020.
"He is so useful, he had some bite and snarl and had a lot of jump tonight," Trotz said. "I can use him in all three forward positions. It's a good fit. Having that luxury of [Pageau] being able to play lines."

The Islanders extended their lead at 14:44, Lee scored from his office at the goal mouth as the Islanders captain cleaned up a loose puck. Wahlstrom scored his second goal of the season and the Islanders seventh and final goal of the outing at 16:33.
This season, the Islanders are 8-1-2 when they score at least three goals (including shootout winners) and are 2-5-1 when they do not. Under Trotz, the Isles are 75-6-9 when scoring three or more.

PROTECT THE BARN

The Islanders are making the most of their final season at the 'Barn' and doing their best to preserve a positive record on home ice. The Islanders now have earned points in their first seven home games (6-0-1) at the Coliseum, including three regulation wins over Boston.
The Bruins came flying out of the gate and took a 1-0 lead just 1:02 into the game, but their jump only lasted so long before the Islanders revved up a response of their own.
ISLANDERS VS BRUINS
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ISLANDERS BRUINS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Pelech's First of the Season
Barzal Speeds and Snipes
Beauvillier's GWG

KINGER'S CALLS
Pelech's First Goal
Barzal Speeds and Snipes
Beau's GWG
Eberle's Silky Finish
Pageau's SHG
Lee Knocks in Rebound
Wahlstrom's Nightcap
A sizzling opening shift by Boston's 'Perfection Line' of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak set up the eventual scoring sequence. As the Perfection Line went to change shifts Pastrnak forechecked to keep the puck in possession of the Bruins in the neutral zone. Off the wall, Charlie Coyle arranged a tic-tac-toe sequence with Jakub Zboril and Nick Ritchie, resulting in Ritchie's finish on the doorstep.
The Bruins' lead was short-lived as the Islanders struck back after 2:14 on Pelech's first goal of the season. Casey Cizikas orchestrated Pelech's goal and in doing so, recorded his 100th-career assist. Cizikas slung a shot on net from the right half wall, his linemates Clutterbuck and Matt Martin crowded Halak's crease. Martin's attempted redirect was kicked out by Halak and further pushed out by Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo, who played the puck straight onto Pelech's stick for the easy bury.
The goal provided the Islanders with ample momentum in which they were able to capitalize and earn their first win of the game. At 12:39, a speedy breakout courtesy of Varlamov, Nick Leddy and Barzal provided the Islanders their second goal game.
Varlamov fed Leddy at the left faceoff circle, who sprung Barzal in the neutral zone. The shifty center jetted past the Bruins' blueline and wired his wrist shot over Halak's glove for his seventh goal of the season.
With the primary assist on Barzal's goal, Leddy extended his team lead in helpers to 10. The blueliner also notched his eighth and ninth assists in his last 11 games with a second assist later on.
The Islanders were without Clutterbuck to start the second period and for the remainder of the game.
Following the expiration of the Islanders' first of two power-play opportunities - both of which went 0-for-2 - during the game, the Bruins evened the score 2-2.
The Islanders were unable to capitalize and as the penalty expired, Craig Smith joined a counter attack out of the box that tied the score 2-2 at 11:36. The Bruins center lofted a pass to a streaking Jack Studnicka in the slot, but that pass took an unfortunate landing as it deflected off of Martin's stick and into the Islanders net.

MULTIPLE MULTI-POINT PERFORMANCES

Video: BOS@NYI: Barzal picks top shelf for transition goal
The Islanders pride themselves on receiving contributions up and down the lineup and against the Bruins, they did just that. In total, 11 players made it onto the scoresheet in the barn burner, even Varlamov, who recorded his first assist as an Islander and his eighth-career assist.
Four players; Barzal (1G, 1A), Lee (1G, 1A), Leddy (2A) and Pelech (1G, 1A), all recorded multi-point games in the dominant team win and all four players posted two assists.
"It's definitely a team win from Varly on out tonight," Lee said. "First two periods were a grind, but it started to pay off for us in the third. We're chasing Boston here, this division is extremely tight...The way this season is playing out, every game will be extremely important. We still have work to do, but any time you can close the gap a bit."

KOMAROV DRAWS BACK IN LINEUP

Leo Komarov returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in Monday's game against Buffalo. Komarov joined the lineup in place of Austin Czarnik. Komarov slid in on the left wing of Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Oliver Wahlstrom.
The winger logged 11:52 time on ice, including 1:53 of shorthanded time, threw four hits, had two shots on goal and one block.

CLUTTERBUCK UPDATE

Video: NYI 7 vs BOS 2: Barry Trotz
Clutterbuck left the game in the first period and did not return for the remainder of the game. Trotz did not have an immediate update following the game.
"I'm not too concerned," Trotz said. "But we'll see how it is. These types of injuries sometimes will linger."
Clutterbuck played 3:07 TOI and was plus-one prior to leaving the game.
In Clutterbuck's absence, Trotz make shifted line combinations that included Josh Bailey with Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Casey Cizikas and another line of Pageau, Cizikas and Martin.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders continue their four-game homestand as they host the Pittsburgh Penguins for a back-to-back set beginning on Saturday night. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.