Bruins Postgame: Blood, Sweat, Beat The Islanders

On the eve of another Boston Bruins Centennial celebration night, the current Bruins squad pulled off a win for the ages in a 5-4 shootout win over the New York Islanders.

The Boston Bruins came back from a two-goal deficit and two one-goal deficits to force extra time before Bruins winger David Pastrnak (1g,1a) won it in the shootout.

James van Riemsdyk and Morgan Geekie also had a goal and an assist, and Mason Lohrei scored the game-tying goal with 3:09 left in regulation, which led to extra time.

Once again the Bruins had a goalie in the zone to lean on as Linus Ullmark turned away 33 Islanders shots, with plenty of big saves on the penalty kill.

Here’s your Boston Hockey Now Bruins Postgame:

CLUTCH: Once again, the Boston Bruins have proven that the worst possible thing they could do on the NHL trade market – unless they’re acquiring a Connor – is trading Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman. After Swayman made 35 saves to salvage a point in the 2-1 overtime loss to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, Ullmark was the backbone for the Bruins on Friday. He made a save that led to a Morgan Geekie powerplay goal and then was huge in the third period to enable the Bruins to come back twice.

Save of the game by Linus Ullmark #NHLBruins

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— Drop the Mitts Hockey (@DropMittsHockey) December 16, 2023

BANGER: Not sure if it was his Montreal Canadiens roots revving him up for a game against the Boston Bruins, but New York Islanders defenseman Alexander Romanov was in ‘Beast Mode’ on Friday night. Romanov scored a goal and had four hits in the loss.

DOGHOUSE: It’s hard to really put any Boston Bruins player in the doghouse after a spirited win like this, so we’ll just tag the whole team. While a game like this can build team chemistry and was so exciting for the fans, it was a coach’s nightmare and not the recipe for success. The Bruins have too many mental lapses and passive moments, and they need to figure it out soon.

UNSUNG HERO: Boston Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery mixed and matched without a top 6 center and his best defenseman and found multiple blends that led to success. There’s a reason Montgomery is the reigning Jack Adams Award winner, and he’s worthy of it again so far this season.

Boston Bruins Lineup

Forwards

Danton Heinen-Morgan Geekie-David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand-Charlie Coyle-Jake DeBrusk

James van Riemsdyk-Trent Frederic-Jesper Boqvist

Jakub Lauko-John Beecher-Oskar Steen

Defensemen

Hampus Lindholm-Ian Mitchell

Matt Grzelcyk-Brandon Carlo

Mason Lohrei-Parker Wotherspoon

Goalies

Linus Ullmark

Jeremy Swayman