3 Takeaways: Islanders Earn 'Huge Point' in 4-3 Shootout Loss to Bruins

The ultimate goal on Tuesday night was two points, but the New York Islanders still had to feel good about the one they scratched and clawed for in a 4-3 shootout loss to the Boston Bruins.
Down 2-0 in the first period and 3-2 going into the third against the NHL's top team, the Islanders dug deep, managing to tie the game twice, even if it ended in a coin-flip shootout, with David Pastrnak scoring the game-deciding goal in the third round.

"It was like a playoff game. It's a huge point to get," Mathew Barzal said following the loss. "Getting a point in Boston is a tough one. Not a lot of teams come in here and get a point. It could be a big point late in the season."
Barzal is right. The Bruins improved to 15-0-1 at TD Garden this season, so points do not come easily along the Charles River - and while they gave away a second one in the shootout, it didn't go to a Metropolitan Division opponent, as the gridlock - along with the cold - begins to set in.

THE WRONG SIDE OF A FAST-PACED START:

It was all Islanders for the first 6:34 on Monday, but by the 7:07 mark, it was 2-0 Bruins.
The Islanders shot out of the gate on Tuesday night, out attempting the Bruins 13-4 in the opening minutes, working hard to keep pucks in on Boston clearing attempts and generating quality looks on Linus Ullmark.
BRUINS 4, ISLANDERS 3 SO
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Cizikas Banks It Home
They certainly had their chances, with Zach Parise left all alone in front of the net for two tries, and Anders Lee missing on a three-on-two rush led by Mathew Barzal and Oliver Wahlstrom.
The ice was tilted, until a Parise goalie interference call put the league-leading Bruins on the power play.
Boston made quick work of it, with Jake DeBrusk deflecting a David Pastrnak shot past Semyon Varlamov at 6:48. Nineteen seconds later the Bruins struck again, as DeBrusk's centering feed deflected off Josh Bailey's stick and past Varlamov at 7:07.
Head Coach Lane Lambert used his timeout and the Islanders seemingly stabilized, reminding them there was plenty of time left and that the two goals were not indicative of how his team was playing.
The message resonated, as Bailey got one back for the Islanders. Noah Dobson's point shot caromed off a Bruins player and then Bailey's skate before eluding Ullmark at the 11-minute mark.
"Just calm down and keep playing," Dobson said of Lambert's message. "We had a good start, and ending up down two was unfortunate, but we weren't doing anything wrong. We were playing well, he said keep going to our game and we'd get it back. It was huge to get a point out of the game tonight."

ISLES RALLY TWICE:

Boston entered the game with a 14-0-0 record when leading after the first period and an identical statline when leading after 40 minutes.
That didn't deter the Islanders, who fought their way into a tie game twice.
"We just kept pushing forward, we believed in ourselves," Cizikas said. "It's a big point to walk away with."
Dobson evened the game 2-2, as his seeing-eye slapper beat North Station traffic and Linus Ullmark - stick side - at 11:43 of the middle frame. Derek Forbot's shorthanded goal put the Bruins up 3-2 heading into the third period, but Casey Cizikas later banked a wraparound attempt off the Bruins defenseman to tie the score 3-3 at 4:40 of the third.
If there was a bone for the Islanders to pick postgame, it was the "brutal" power play that led to the shorthanded goal. Granted, Boston entered the game with the league's top-ranked penalty kill, but having the shorthanded unit outshoot the Islanders power play 3-1 on the night didn't sit well with a special teams unit that's scored in seven of the past 10 games.
"We had troubles with the entries," Lambert said. "They ended up getting a rush, but it's not an outnumbered rush, it's an even man rush. We miss an assignment that we shouldn't miss and it's in the back of our net. Our power play has been very good and we'll just have to get back to work on it."

VARLAMOV HELPS SECURE POINT LATE:

Semyon Varlamov was solid for the Islanders, stopping 30-of-33 shots in the shootout loss on Monday.
The Bruins first two goals were both deflections, but after the initial shock of two tallies 19 seconds apart wore off, it was hard to find fault with the Islanders netminder, who put the quick strikes behind him.
Varlamov played a big role in getting the Islanders to overtime, getting across his net to stop a Pastrnak one-timer off a feed from Brad Marchand with five minutes to play. The veteran goalie stopped all six Bruins shots he saw in OT, including a dangerous look along the goal line from Marchand.
In the shootout, Varlamov stopped the first shot he saw from Charlie Coyle, but was beat by a DeBrusk shot and a quality deke from Pastrnak.
With the shootout loss, Varlamov dropped to 7-3-2 in 12 games against the Bruins as an Islander. The shootout loss also snapped Varlamov's three-game winning streak.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders head out to Arizona to take on the Coyotes on Friday night. Puck drop is at 9:30 p.m. eastern.