Takeaways: Isles Defeat Bruins 5-4 in OT

The New York Islanders earned two big points with a 5-4 OT victory against the Boston Bruins on Sunday night, ending a three-game losing streak.

Bo Horvat scored the overtime goal 3:10 into the extra session, bookending the scoring for the Islanders after his first period shorthanded goal, while the Islanders also saw offense from Ryan Pulock (1G, 2A) and Anders Lee (2G). David Pastrnak (2G), Cole Koepke and Justin Brazeau scored for the Bruins.

Ilya Sorokin turned aside 26 of 30 shots in his 15^th start in the last 16 games, while Joonas Korpisalo made 32 saves in the loss. For the Islanders, the belief in the room and from Head Coach Patrick Roy was that they’ve been improving structurally over the course of the past few games, but getting rewarded is a great feeling.

“We played good hockey for a few games in a row here, and tonight we got rewarded for the effort,” Lee said. “It was Sorokin on out, it was a full team effort. Just a great game, a huge two points for us.”

With the victory, the Islanders snapped a seven-game winless streak (0-5-2) at TD Garden. Knotted at one apiece in the season series this year, the Islanders and Bruins will meet again on Feb. 27 in Boston to conclude the season series.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Islanders allowed the opening goal for the 13th time in the last 15 games when the puck bounced off Koepke’s shoulder and into the net. Roy challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal was upheld, putting the Isles on the penalty kill.

The Islanders were opportunistic early into the penalty, scoring shorthanded 21 seconds into the two-minute delay of game minor. Horvat and JG Pageau connected down low with Horvat burying his first shorthanded goal of the season to tie things up at 3:22 into the first period.

“The first goal couldn’t hurt us, they got a power play after it because we challenged it but it was a really great kill,” Roy said. “We scored and it gave us some momentum.”

The Islanders kept their foot on the gas and produced a goal at even strength 2:10 after their first goal as Pulock’s shot from the point beat Korpisalo to take a 2-1 advantage.

Entering the middle frame with the lead, Lee buried his team-leading 17th goal of the season after Alexander Romanov got the puck up ice from the defensive zone for Lee in the neutral zone, as he rushed into the zone with a burst of speed and ripped a shot from the left circle to give the Islanders a 3-1 advantage.

The Bruins got one back as Brazeau found an opening down the middle and snapped a shot cleanly past Sorokin to get Boston within one.

The Islanders capitalized on a turnover in the Bruins zone, as Pulock found Lee with time and space in front of the crease, as the captain shelfed a pretty backhand to regain a 4-2 lead. The Bruins bit back and eventually tied it in the third period, with Pastrnak burying his 16th and 17th goals of the season. His first goal came 53 seconds after Lee’s tally as Pastrnak beat Sorokin with a slapshot in the left dot, while his second goal of the night was a deflection with 7:16 left in regulation.

In the first Islanders’ overtime contest since Dec. 3 in Montreal, the Islanders won their second overtime game of the season when Horvat sprung into a breakaway and snapped a shot past Korpisalo to earn the two points for the Islanders.

NEW LINES SPARK OFFENSE

Roy shuffled his top nine ahead of Sunday’s contest in hopes of sparking some offense and saw each new line hit the scoresheet in the win.

Brock Nelson played on a line with Anders Lee and Mathew Barzal, while Kyle Palmieri started the game with Horvat and Anthony Duclair. Pageau was moved to a line with Max Tsyplakov and Casey Cizikas.

Bo Horvat’s shorthanded goal and OT winner marked the fifth time in Islanders history that has happened in the same game.

Roy kept the line of Kyle MacLean, Hudson Fasching and Pierre Engvall the same – and although they didn’t hit the scoresheet – that line brought energy and continued momentum as Roy wanted them to. They pinned the Bruins in their own zone for about a minute, where Engvall and MacLean had grade-A looks.

PULOCK’S THREE POINT PERFORMANCE

Ryan Pulock was a difference maker in Sunday’s win, potting a goal and recording two assists in his first three-point game since Nov. 26, 2022.

“It was his best game since I’ve been here,” Roy said of Pulock. “I thought he was skating well, moving well and that [shorthanded] goal he prepared for Anders, that was a great play. He was really solid tonight.

When the blueline steps up to produce offense, it’s an important factor in the game and made a difference in Boston.

"He's been playing some good hockey for us and to see him playing with that confidence with the puck, it's great," Pageau said. "We need that from our D, and he was outstanding tonight."

LINEUP NOTES

Dennis Cholowski drew into the lineup in light of Isaiah George’s (day to day, upper body) absence. He recorded two shots (one attempt blocked, one missed) in 11:45 TOI.

Simon Holmstrom (day to day, upper body) missed his third straight game.

ODDS AND ENDS

- Pageau collected his second shorthanded point of the season as he hit the scoresheet for a shorty when he buried a shorthanded tally in the Islanders’ opening night against Utah. Pageau was tied for fifth in the NHL last season with six shorthanded points in the 2023-24 campaign.
- Lee led the team with seven shots on goal and matched a season-high.
- Romanov recorded a team-high six blocked shots and led the team with 25:21 TOI.

NOTABLE QUOTE

Pageau how the momentous victory can help the Isles get on a roll:

“We’re in it together, and we want to win together, and that’s where it starts.”

NEXT GAME

The Islanders have three days without games before taking on the Vegas Golden Knights on the road on Thursday. Puck drop is 10 p.m. eastern.