Islanders Beat Out Bruins 4-2
BOSTON -- The New York Islanders ended a five-game losing streak, holding off a third-period Boston charge and defeating the Bruins 4-2 Tuesday night.
Thomas Greiss stopped 48 shots and Anders Lee had two goals and an assist as the Isles blew most of a three-goal lead before hanging on.
New York (12-14-6) chased Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask with three goals on 13 shots through the 6:18 mark of the second period.
The Bruins (17-14-3) lost their fourth consecutive home game and saw their five-game winning streak against the Islanders end.
Down 3-0, the Bruins got goals from Anton Blidh -- his first in the NHL -- and Dominic Moore in the first 7:12 of the third period to get the fans into the game for the first time.
However, Lee, who has 14 points in the past 14 games, stuffed a power-play rebound of his own deflected shot past Anton Khudobin with 6:58 remaining.
Greiss, one of three goalies the Islanders are using, was outstanding. The first Boston goal went in off the skate of New York defenseman Nick Leddy. The Bruins fired 23 of their season-high 50 shots at Greiss (7-5-0) in the third period.
Nikolay Kulemin and Thomas Hickey scored the other Islanders goals, while Josh Bailey had two assists.
The Islanders had been outscored 11-0 in the third periods of their losing streak, and that stat grew to 13-0 before Lee scored.
Rask fell to 16-6-3 on the season and to 10-4-0 lifetime against the Islanders. Khudobin made 15 saves on the 16 shots he faced.
Islanders coach Jack Capuano paired former Bruins Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg on defense, and the veteran duo played a strong game -- Boychuk with an assist on the third New York goal and both providing their usual toughness.
Three of the four straight Boston losses at home have come against last-place teams.
The trouble started early for Rask, who went behind his net to field a puck only to run into teammate Brad Marchand. Lee, standing nearby, picked up the puck and reached around and tucked it into the unguarded net 3:05 into the game.
The Islanders made it 2-0 on a 3-on-1 later in the period. Zdeno Chara was the lone Bruin back and seemed to have the pass covered, allowing Rask to play the shooter. But Hickey's shot eluded Rask at 5:40 -- only the fourth shot on goal for the visitors.
The Bruins failed to score on their 14 first-period shots and hit the crossbar twice early in the second -- before another Boston flub made it 3-0 and KO'd Rask.
Boychuk flipped the puck in from center ice and Boston's Kevan Miller was ahead of Kulemin in the race. But Miller missed the puck, which bounced right to the corner of the post -- Kulemin whacking it home as Rask didn't have the corner covered.
The Bruins, who heard boos at the end of the second period, had 27 shots through two.
NOTES: The game marked the TD Garden return of long-time Bruins D Dennis Seidenberg, who won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 -- as did fellow Islanders D Johnny Boychuk. Both were cheered when announced as starters pregame, starting the game together. Seidenberg was then treated to a video tribute during a first-period break. ... The Islanders entered the game leading the NHL with 586 blocked shots, Calvin de Haan leading the way with 87. ... The teams entered the game with two of the three worst power plays in the league, the Bruins 28th and New York 30th. ... The Bruins open a four-game road trip at Florida Thursday and play nine of their next 11 games on the road, while the Islanders are home for the next two, starting with the Buffalo Sabres in Brooklyn on Friday night.
