Takeaways: Sorokin Leads Isles to 2-1 Win Over Bruins

After a tough 5-1 loss on Tuesday night, the New York Islanders knew they needed a bounce-back game on Thursday.

Led by Ilya Sorokin, who needed one of his own, they got it, beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 at TD Garden.

Sorokin stopped 38-of-39 shots, while Alexander Romanov and Kyle Palmieri scored for the Isles, who snapped a four-game losing streak.

David Pastrnak scored the lone goal for the Bruins while Jeremy Swayman stopped 18-of-20 shots to extend their winless skid to five games (0-3-2)

“Sometimes you just need to find a way to win,” Head Coach Patrick Roy said. “And that's what we did.”

The win was critical for the Islanders (59 points), as they closed the gap with the Bruins (62 points) – a team they need to leapfrog in wild card race – from five points to three with two games in hand. They’re still seven points back of the Columbus Blue Jackets (66 points) with a game in hand and five teams between them.

“A 1,000-mile distance starts with the first step,” Romanov said. “That was the first step.”

TAKEAWAYS:

- After an uncharacteristic night against the Rangers on Tuesday, Sorokin returned to his regular form on Tuesday. Sorokin was busy early, stopping 15 shots in the first period alone – including seven shots on two Bruins’ power plays – and kept the Islanders in the game long enough to stabilize.

Perhaps Sorokin’s most important save came on Pavel Zacha at 3:53 of the second period, bailing out his team after a Romanov giveaway at the offensive blue line. Up 1-0, Sorokin turned aside Zacha and less than 30 seconds later, Palmieri batted a Brock Nelson rebound past Swayman to make it 2-0.

After letting the Rangers have free reign in front of their net on Tuesday, the Islanders cleared shooting lanes for their netminder on Thursday.

“We practiced that yesterday... making sure that we do a good job boxing out and then grab sticks,” Roy said. “It was a good game in that regard, there's no doubt about it and I felt like it wasn't a big adjustment for our guys.”

The Isles did their part and Sorokin did his, staying cool under fire during Bruins pressure late in the second, notably using an active stick to break up a centering feed from Elias Lindholm in some net-front chaos. The lone puck to beat him was a bad bounce off a sharp-angled shot from the hottest player in the league, as Pastrnak’s wrister caromed off Tony DeAngelo before finding the back of the net. From then on, he was solid, stopping the final eight shots of the contest.

“After bad game, you should forget past and just try to do what you can do,” Sorokin said. “And I tried to just play simple and play a full 60 minutes.”

- While the shots were lopsided, the Islanders made the most of their limited opportunities. After killing off the second of the Islanders two penalties, Romanov joined a rush with JG Pageau and sniped his fourth goal of the season past Swayman at 16:11.

Palmieri made it 2-0 at 4:28 of the second period, following up a Brock Nelson rebound and swatting it past Swayman. The goal was the Islanders second on eight shots on a night where the Isles were happy to trade quantity for quality. Palmieri stayed red hot, as Thursday’s tally was his fourth goal in his last five games.

- Roy said he was looking for swagger out of the Islanders on Thursday night and saw it in the way they closed out the game. When the Bruins cut the deficit to 2-1, Roy said he felt like the Islanders stayed calm in a hostile TD Garden.

“What I really love is when they made it two one, we didn't change our game. Actually, it was the opposite, we had a push,” Roy said. “It was good team effort. And sometimes you don't need to be perfect. You just need find a way to win.”

ODDS AND ENDS:

• Casey Cizikas played in his 873^rd game with the Islanders, passing Clark Gillies for sole possession of sixth on the Islanders’ all-time games played list.
• The Islanders picked up consecutive wins in Boston for the first time since Dec. 19, 2019 and Mar. 25, 2021. It was the Islanders first regulation win in Boston since Jan. 16, 2017.
• David Pastrnak extended his career-long point streak to 16 games and recorded his 800^th NHL point.

LINEUP NOTES:

Noah Dobson returned to the lineup after missing 11 games with a lower-body injury. Dobson skated on a pair with Adam Pelech with Scott Perunovich coming out of the lineup. Dobson played 18:54 with eight shot attempts (six blocked, two missed), five giveaways and two blocked shots.

Hudson Fasching also returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 5 – a 17-game absence – and skated on a line with Kyle MacLean and Marc Gatcomb. Pierre Engvall came out of the lineup in a corresponding move.

Fasching played 9:47 with two shots one hit and one giveaway, including a stellar first shift of the game, pinning the Bruins in their end and setting up a high-danger chance for MacLean. Roy eventually promoted Fasching to a line with Pageau and Casey Cizikas later in the game.

NOTABLE QUOTE:

Noah Dobson on returning to the lineup after an 11-game absence

“It was great to be back. It's no fun where you're sitting out, especially for extended period of time. Obviously, a lot of lot of energy and just excitement to get back in the lineup, but overall, I thought was pretty good first game, and obviously a big win, something you can build off.”

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders are back in action on Saturday afternoon when they host the Nashville Predators. Puck drop is at 12:30 p.m.