Bruins finally score big in 6-3 road win over Islanders
The Boston Bruins are back over .500 at 11-10-3 on the season, after a 6-3 road win over the New York Islanders on Wednesday at UBS Arena. They are now 3-1 in four games under interim head coach Joe Sacco. Their six goals tied their biggest offensive output of the season, after they scored six in their previous five games combined.
Captain Brad Marchand scored twice in the first period to build an early Bruins lead, but the Islanders battled back from multiple deficits to make it a tie game. Pavel Zacha scored twice in the third period, including the eventual game-winner. Goaltender Joonas Korpisalo saved 21-of-24 Isles shots (.875) for his fifth win of the season.
The Bruins got off to a hotter start offensively than in their other games under Sacco so far. Marchand scored just 57 seconds into the game, blasting home a one-timer right off the faceoff, then again at the 6:31 mark of the first period when he trailed a rush then finished up the rebound chance.
Marchand is now up to eight goals and nine assists in 24 games, a 58-point pace. He has four points in as many games since Sacco took over.
The Islanders got one back after Maxim Tsyplakov’s backhand trickled through Korpisalo to make it 2-1. Both teams went scoreless for just over 16 minutes of game time into the second period, until Islanders forward Brock Nelson tied it 2-2 as he sizzled a wrist shot past Korpisalo.
Bruins forward Morgan Geekie would get his team back on top just a few minutes later in the second period, scoring his first goal since Nov. 12 and his second of the season. Left open in the low faceoff circle, Geekie finished a cross-ice pass from Pavel Zacha to make it 3-2 Bruins.
The Bruins fell into an old habit at the conclusion of the second period, allowing a last-minute goal. It was Nelson again to tie it for the Islanders, who took advantage of multiple failed breakout attempts to net the equalizer with just eight seconds left.
Not to be deterred by the blown leads, Zacha scored two goals in a span of 2:34 in the third period, both after crashing the net and firing point-blank. The win marked both Zacha’s first multi-goal game and his first three-point game of the season, as he assisted on the Geekie goal. He now has 10 points in 24 games.
Defenseman Nikita Zadorov took a crosschecking penalty with 4:10 left in the third period and the Bruins up two, the first and only penalty of the game. As he exited the penalty box, the puck was gliding toward the empty Islanders net, and he took full advantage by tucking it in and making it 6-3. The empty-netter was Zadorov’s first goal as a Bruin.
Up Next: The Bruins will enjoy Thanksgiving, then get right back to work on Friday night, as they play their third game in four nights against the Pittsburgh Penguins at TD Garden.
Matt Dolloff is a writer and digital content producer for 98.5 The Sports Hub. Read all of his articles here.
