Islanders Eliminate Bruins With Dominant 6-2 Showing In Game 6
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins' season is over.
Facing elimination in Game 6 against the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, the Bruins fell behind by two goals in the second period and never recovered, ultimately losing 6-2 in the decisive game of the series.
The Islanders got two goals from Brock Nelson and one apiece from Travis Zajac and Kyle Palmieri. Cal Clutterbuck and Ryan Pulock added empty-netters to ice the win.
Semyon Varlamov made 23 saves for the Islanders, while Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for Boston.
The Islanders scored the first goal of the game near the midway point of the opening period. Rask made a save on a point shot from Noah Dobson, but Travis Zajac managed to dig the rebound out of Charlie McAvoy's skates before beating Rask cleanly from the goalmouth to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
The Bruins tied the game before the end of the first, though, after two penalties were called on the Islanders. With less than 30 seconds remaining on the second penalty -- a trip by Casey Cizikas -- David Pastrnak faked a one-timer while sending a bullet of a cross-ice pass to Brad Marchand. The winger handled the hot pass and fired a shot over the downed D-man and into the open net, tying the game at 1-1 with 2:24 remaining in the first period.
The Islanders regained the lead early in the second period, though. Brock Nelson burst up the right wing before sneaking the puck through Matt Grzelcyk and beating Rask on a breakaway. Rask got a piece of the shot but it deflected off his glove and in to make it 2-1 for New York.
The Islanders doubled their lead seven minutes later, after Rask's pass around the boards ended up on an Islanders stick and in the net in a hurry.
New York poured it on with a fourth goal minutes later, when Kyle Palmieri picked Grzelcyk's pocket at the doorstep and slipped the puck past an unsuspecting Rask to make it 4-1 for the home team.
Marchand scored his second of the night -- also on the power play -- in the third period to cut the lead to 4-2.
The Bruins pulled the goaltender late in the third period to try to come back from a two-goal deficit, but the Islanders scored twice into the empty cage.
There was some question leading up to the game whether Rask would be able to start. He was pulled after two periods in Monday night's Game 5 loss, with Bruce Cassidy saying the goaltender needed "maintenance." But on Wednesday after the morning skate, Cassidy asserted that Rask would be the starter for the must-win Game 6.
The series got to this point after the Islanders won Game 4 at home and Game 5 in Boston to take a 3-2 lead. Boston had owned 1-0 and 2-1 leads in the series before dropping those consecutive games in the middle of the series and then the decisive Game 6.
