Rask Pulled, Bruins Blanked By Islanders 4-0
By The Sports Xchange | Box Score
BOSTON -- Thomas Greiss stopped 32 shots for his first shutout of the season and Nikolay Kulemin scored twice in a three-goal second-period outburst to lead the New York Islanders to their first shutout victory ever in Boston -- 4-0 over the Bruins on Monday.
Greiss, notching the fifth shutout of his career, turned in his second huge game at TD Garden in less than a month. Back on Dec. 20, New York's new No. 1 goaltender (Jaroslav Halak is in the minors) stopped 48 of 50 shots in a 4-2 win over the Bruins.
Kulemin, scoring off a pair of passes from linemate Casey Cizikas, scored twice around a Josh Bailey goal in a span of 5:20 of the second. Jason Chimera, who assisted on Kulemin's first goal, scored for the third straight game on a short-handed breakaway in the third period.
Boos rained downed on the Bruins after the final siren.
The first three goals came against Tuukka Rask (10-5-0 lifetime against the Islanders), Rask, guilty of one bad goal out of the three, was pulled after two periods in favor of Zane McIntyre, who played the third.
The Islanders became the latest last-place team to come into the TD Garden, where the Bruins are just 10-11-0, and win.
The victory lifted the Islanders (3-3-2 in their last eight) out of the Eastern Conference cellar.
With Cal Clutterback out with a minor injury, Shane Prince dressed after sitting out two games and joined Kulemin and Cizikas on the fourth line -- that line turning into the top unit in the second period.
After getting three shots in a defensive first period, the Islanders took advantage of Boston mistakes, including one by Rask, for their eruption.
The Bruins had just starting hitting everything that moved at one end of the ice, but it was the Islanders who wound up getting the first goal of the game. Cizikas sent the puck from behind the net to Kulemin, who scored his first goal in six games and sixth of the season at 13:18 of the second period.
Just 1:42 later, Bailey shot from a bad angle to end a 14-game goal drought.
Rask then got sharper and wound up stopping Cizikas on a breakaway, after a pass from Kulemin. Cizikas hung with the puck and sent it out to an uncovered Kulemin in the slot and it was 3-0.
McIntyre then led the Bruins out for the third period, Rask's day over after 12 saves.
NOTES: D Johnny Boychuk, a former Bruin, returned after missing a game with an injury, but LW Andrew Ladd and RW Cal Clutterbuck were out of the Islander lineup with minor injuries. ... With both Ds Kevan Miller (concussion) and Colin Miller (lower body) out, D Joe Morrow dressed for Boston for the first time since Dec. 12. Colin Miller missed his third straight game while Kevan Miller was injured on a Jakub Voracek hit from behind Saturday. ... Bruins LW Brad Marchand was named as the NHL's second star of the week after registering eight points in three games. Five of them came Saturday in his second five-point game of the season. ... New York came in 15-4-2 when scoring at least three goals, but 1-13-6 with two goals or less. ... The Islanders open a six-game homestand against the Dallas Stars on Thursday, while the Bruins are at Detroit on Wednesday and host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday.
