Boston Bruins
Bruins Buckle Down And Bounce Back In Win Over Islanders
BOSTON — A Boston Bruins team that looked about disorganized and disinterested as possible during a disastrous loss just 24 hours prior bounced back nicely on Tuesday night, defeating the New York Islanders 5-2 at TD Garden.
“We told each other that it’s there if we want to take this game,” David Pastrnak said. “I thought we were the better team. Mindset can do magical things, and we had the right mindset the whole game. We stayed patient and got rewarded.”
The Bruins seemed to be on the fast track to yet another lifeless loss as they found themselves trailing by two at the end of the first period.
After all, it only took was a 1:08 for the Islanders to grab the lead after Bo Horvat capitalized on an odd-man rush while the Bruins had four defenders trailing behind the play. Kyle Palmieri added a goal for New York at 4:52, scoring on a delayed penalty to put Boston into an early hole.
“Was it the start we wanted? No. But I felt good for some reason, because the guys were dialed in,” said Bruins head coach Marco Sturm. “I could sense that they gave me everything they had in the first period.”
Boston turned the game on its head in the middle frame, scoring three straight goals all in the span of 3:51 to take the lead.
Elias Lindholm got the scoring started on the power play, blasting a one-timer from the bumper position past Islanders’ goalie Ilya Sorokin for his fourth goal of the season.
Pastrnak followed up moments after. Freshly activated off injured reserve, Hampus Lindholm handled the puck at the top of the zone and whipped a pass across the ice to a wide-open Pastrnak at the back door, where he had a wide-open net to fire into for his sixth goal of the season.
“It’s good to have him back,” Pastrnak said. “You can see the difference he makes on both sides of the ice. My goal is a perfect example of what he sees in the offensive zone. It’s huge to have him back healthy and have him be able to play the game that he did. Hopefully, he’s going to feel more comfortable and stay healthy.”
Making his first appearance in five games, Hampus Lindholm provided an instant jolt to the team, balancing out the pairings on the back end as he skated a total of 19:03 of ice time.
“You want to get out there as soon as you can to help the hockey club win games,” said Hampus Lindholm. “That’s what I felt coming off the back-to-back. It’s nice to come out and get a win after the game we had last night.”
Less than a minute later after Pastrnak’s goal, Mikey Eyssimont put the Bruins ahead after Charlie McAvoy’s wide-angle shot from the corner banked off of him in front and into the back of the net for his third goal of the season.
A double minor penalty by Hampus Lindholm for high sticking at the end of the second period put the Bruins’ advantage in jeopardy. So too did a hooking call against Pastrnak at the start of the third.
But the Boston penalty kill, which had about as bad of a night imaginable just 24 hours prior, preserved the lead by finishing the night five for five while aiding Joonas Koprisalo as he made 33 saves on 35 shots.
Morgan Geekie tacked on a fourth goal while on the power play at 5:48 of the third. Hammering a one-timer from just above the face-off circles, Geekie found the back of the net for the sixth time in five games and elevated his season total to a team-leading eight goals.
“He has everything to score 50 in this league,” Pastrnak said. “I keep telling him, keep reminding him, he has a heck of a shot and goal scoring instincts. He’s going to get it one day. The shot that he has is amazing. It’s the best on our team. We just need to keep getting him the opportunities and reminding him to shoot more.”
The Islanders pulled Sorokin for an extra attacker with more than three minutes remaining. All that led, though, was an empty-net goal from Fraser Minten that buried New York and put Boston’s misery from the night before out of mind.
“I was just looking forward to today, because I knew these guys going to respond,” said Sturm. “I knew it. I think we were all disappointed last night, not just me, my players, too. I could tell already before the game, we had a bunch of meetings, and I could tell these guys were ready to go.”
With their record now sitting at 5-7-0, the Bruins will welcome the Buffalo Sabres to TD Garden on Thursday.
