5 Takeaways: Islanders Fall 4-1 in First Loss to Bruins

In their sixth meeting of the regular season, the New York Islanders suffered their first loss against the Boston Bruins as they dropped a 4-1 result on Thursday night. The game was also the first leg of a back-to-back set at TD Garden between the Islanders and Bruins.
The Islanders entered the first game of their three-game road trip coming off a three-day break, but came out flat against a hungry Bruins team vying for playoff points as they sit in fourth in the East Division. Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz called his team's performance on Thursday "unacceptable."

"They came out and set the tone, we had some guys that didn't want to accept the challenge," Trotz said. "We weren't hard enough for this game. We were looking for a little easier game and it wasn't. Full credit to the Bruins, they came in, they played the right way, they got on us, they got the lead. We were able to stabilize, we were only in the game because of [Semyon] Varlamov. We responded, got it to 2-1 - our second period was OK - then in the third period, we start OK. Then, in the third period, we had the 2-on-1 we didn't score, they come back and score. It was sort of game over. It just wasn't our night and we didn't deserve to win at all."
The Islanders sole goal came from Travis Zajac, who tallied his first goal as a member of the team. Varlamov returned to the pipes and made 41 saves on 44 shots.
Boston's scoring was supported by Brad Marchand's opening tally and empty-net goal, Craig Smith's power-play strike and Taylor Hall's first goal as a Bruin. Tuukka Rask made 22 saves on 23 shots in his return to Boston's net after being sidelined with an upper-body injury for 17 of the last 18 games and made his first appearance since March 25.
Here are five takeaways from the Islanders 4-1 loss to Boston:

UNCHARACTERISTIC FIRST PERIOD SETS THE TONE

Off the opening faceoff, the Islanders chased the game as a result of an uncharacteristic first period. The Islanders fell into a 2-0 hole heading into the first intermission after being out hustled, out-chanced - giving up a season-high 23 shots in the period - and undisciplined, as they took three penalties including a double minor.
"They came out hard, that's really it," Barzal said. "They came out flying. It's a big game, a big game for them. They're fighting for a spot, we're fighting for top of the division right now, it's two good teams going at it and their compete level was higher than ours tonight."
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On somewhat of a fluke sequence on the opening goal, Patrice Bergeron's initial shot deflected off of Marchand's back and the cross bar. While the referees didn't recognize the goal immediately, the play was reviewed and confirmed to give Boston a 1-0 lead just 1:49 into the game.
While the Islanders survived their first two penalty kills, they didn't do themselves any favors when they were awarded their first power play at 13:45 as Boston forward Charlie Coyle tripped Brock Nelson. Sixty-four seconds into the Islanders power play, Nelson high-sticked Mike Reilly - Boston's trade deadline acquisition from Ottawa - and drew blood resulting in a double minor.
The Islanders survived the 56 seconds of four-on-four, but relinquished Smith's power-play tally from the high slot off a David Krejci feed at 17:55.

BETTER EFFORT LATE ON, BUT 'DIDN'T DESERVE TO WIN'

Down by two goals, the Islanders executed an improved effort in the second period as they managed to cut their deficit down 2-1.
The Islanders pressured early and got on the board 2:56 into the period as Zajac buried his first goal as an Islander. The play was set up by Mathew Barzal's deception of selling the attempt for the wraparound and instead, feeding Zajac on the doorstep for his low blocker-side goal. The assist marked Barzal's fourth helper in the last three games.
The remainder of the period featured much more balanced play between the teams, who exchanged shifts of momentum. Both sides killed off penalties as Boston's David Krejci hooked Nick Leddy at 9:54 and Cal Clutterbuck was assessed with high-sticking at 15:25. Boston held the slight edge in shots heading into the second intermission at 12-11 in the middle frame.
This season, the Islanders have notoriously been able to lock down games in the third period, even if they're trailing and they own the best goal differential in the NHL for the period at plus-19.
But they didn't do the work to poise themselves for a comeback. Instead, they dug themselves further into a hole as Boston extended its lead 3-1 only 1:52 into the period. The Islanders didn't capitalize on two-on-rush with Eberle and Barzal and instead, Boston countered with a disheartening goal.
Bruins winger David Pastrnak sprung Hall in the neutral zone, who outpaced Adam Pelech and beat Varlamov with a low far-side shot for his first goal in the Black and Gold.
"You have one chance and that comes back the other way and they score," Zajac said. "That resembles a little bit of our game today. We didn't execute as well needed to and be as hard as we needed to in some areas."
With a two-goal lead the Bruins did ease up and continued to control the period as they outshot the Islanders 10-5. With 2:31 left in the third period, Trotz pulled Varlamov in exchange for the extra attacker, which prompted Marchand to convert his empty netter and seal the Bruins first win of the regular season over the Islanders.

VARLAMOV RETURNS TO THE NET

While it wasn't the best effort from the Islanders, Varlamov was 'outstanding' for the team according to Trotz as he gave his team a chance to compete and stay in the fight. He returned to the net for the first time since April 9. With the loss, the veteran's record dropped to 16-9-3.
After facing an onslaught of chances in the first 20 minutes of play, Varlamov was solid in the second period, denying 12 shots. The netminder came up with a timely save for his team just as Krejci's second-period penalty expired and he and Marchand teamed up for an odd-man rush. Varlamov tracked the play as it unfolded and denied Krejci's one-timer.
While Boston extended its lead 3-1 in the third period, they didn't let up, but the Islanders netminder made some sturdy stops. In the final six minutes of play, Varlamov denied a series of attempts including a pad save on a Smith point-blank one timer from the right faceoff circle and denied David Pastrnak at the goal line with a kick save.

ZAJAC'S FIRST GOAL AS AN ISLANDER

Zajac's second-period goal marked his first career goal - and point - as a member of the organization since being dealt to the Islanders from New Jersey on April 7.

Ahead of Thursday's game, Jordan Eberle spoke highly of his new linemate in Zajac and complimented his scoring touch down low. Zajac did just that to earn his first goal as an Islander.
"Just getting the first one as an Islander," Zajac said of what he'll remember about his goal. "It was a great play by [Eberle] on the forecheck and then [Barzal] does his thing. I'll tell you, I won't get an easier goal than that this year. I just had to go to the net, he's able to create and find people and I had an open net to shoot at."
The goal was the eighth this season for the 35-year-old veteran forward and boosted his season total in scoring to 19 points (8G, 11A) through 37 games.

UPDATE ON BAILEY

Bailey was not on the bench to start the third period for the Islanders. Trotz did not have an immediate update following the game.
"I don't have any update," Trotz said. "Just a play, he left the bench and didn't return."
The winger logged 6:41, including 10 seconds on the power play and 39 seconds of time on the penalty kill. Bailey took one penalty and threw one hit.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Bruins are right back at it Friday night as they close out their back-to-back set at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m.