5 Takeaways: Islanders Comeback Falls Short With 2-1 Loss In OT

The New York Islanders' comeback attempt against the Boston Bruins fell short in Game 3 on Thursday night at Nassau Coliseum as the Islanders fell 2-1 in overtime.
Brad Marchand delivered Boston the victory 3:36 into overtime, as the Bruins regained the second round series lead to 2-1.
Mathew Barzal scored his first goal of the postseason to force overtime with 6:26 left in regulation. Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves on 41 shots in the loss, all of which came in regulation.
Craig Smith opened the scoring in regulation for the Bruins, while Tuukka Rask stopped 28 of 29 shots in the win.
It was no surprise the game was 1-0 for over 40 minutes of play and was decided by a minuscule margin in overtime as both teams battled for every inch throughout the entirety of the game.

"These are two times that it is what it is," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "We're fairly evenly matched. We're nose-to-nose playing blue collar hockey. It's not going to be easy. The hard way is going to be the only way in this series. There was no easy ice, especially in the first half of the game, there was no easy ice. You had to fight and claw for every inch of real estate out there. It was back and forth. There was no panic. We were in the same situation before [being down 2-1 in a series]. You have to look forward, you can't look back. We'll just have to look forward. We don't look back. We'll try to correct a couple of things, reset and go at it Saturday."
Here are five takeaways from the Islanders' overtime loss in Game 3:

ISLANDERS FORCE OVERTIME, FALL SHORT

The Bruins broke the ice, just as they have in all three games of this series, but the pesky Islanders hung around to force OT an unsuccessful comeback attempt.
In overtime, Long Beach-born Charlie McAvoy made the zone entry for Boston and found a streaking Marchand along the left wall. Marchand took a few strides and beat Varlamov far side as he fired off his shot on a tough angle.
"It was a weird shot," Varlamov said. "But the puck found the net, so it was a good play I guess by Marchand."
ISLES-BRUINS GAME 3
ISLANDERS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
ISLANDERS BRUINS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Barzal's First of the Playoffs
Postgame: Varlamov and Pageau
Postgame: Barzal and Pulock
Postgame: Trotz
KINGER'S CALLS
Barzal Ties It Late
Much of regulation featured the type of style of play that's to be expected from both teams with heavy, hard-hitting, tight-checking hockey with limited opportunities for offense. The Bruins outshot the Islanders 39-24, including by 21-9 in just the third period.
"[The games] are really tight," Barzal said. "Two of the top teams in the league just playing hard. A lot of power plays tonight, it was an exciting game. Our group battled hard and so did they. It's been like that the last three games and I don't think it's going to change. Just two good teams going at it and a matter of inches every game is so close."
Despite a strong start from the Islanders, who were playing with some jump out of the gate, Boston capitalized at 5:52 on a play that started in their own zone.
After stripping Barzal of the puck at the blueline in Boston's zone, Taylor Hall jetted up ice and curled his path to the right faceoff circle. He collected a pass from Matt Grzelcyk and snapped a feed onto Smith's tape in the high slot. Smith wired his shot over Varlamov's glove to give Boston a 1-0 lead that remained heading into the first intermission.
The Islanders had chances to even it up in the first period; with a Beauvillier breakaway two minutes after Smith's icebreaker, and a power play - on Brad Marchand's high-sticking penalty at 11:08 - but couldn't break through.
The second period was relatively uneventful as it remained 1-0 in favor of the Bruins. The Islanders received their second power play of the night at 8:12 on David Pastrnak's slash on Ryan Pulock, but were unsuccessful in capitalizing.
In the final period of regulation, Boston dictated the tempo and controlled the majority of possession. Boston was down to five defensemen after Brandon Carlo left the game 6:11 into the third period after receiving a hit from Cal Clutterbuck behind the Bruins' net.
Despite being outplayed for the majority of the third period, the Islanders hung on and in true 'Islander hockey' fashion, the team stayed patient and pounced on their golden opportunity.

BARZAL BREAKS THROUGH

Barzal's first goal of the postseason almost couldn't have come at a better time.
The goal may not have been executed in his usual jaw-dropping goal fashion, but it was a playoff-type goal and tied the game 1-1 with 6:26 left in regulation.
On a zone cycle, Barzal - who had only had four assists through eight games coming into Game 3 - grabbed the loose puck that was sent behind the goal line on Kyle Palmieri's fanned shot from the right faceoff circle. Barzal slipped the puck around the near post in a wraparound-esque look to rob Rask of the shutout, jamming the puck in on the rebound.
With the goal and an evened score, the Islanders received an immediate jolt. The atmosphere at the Coliseum was electric and the Islanders largely controlled the final five minutes of play.
Beauvillier had a chance to deliver the Islanders a win as he was sprung for his second breakaway of the game, but his backhanded attempt jumped into Rask's chest.
The Islanders ended the period with a power play as Sean Kuraly was whistled for interference with 2:15 left to play, but the Bruins received a huge and committed effort from their penalty kill to send the game into OT.

VARLAMOV SOLID IN LOSS

After backstopping Game 2's dramatic 4-3 OT win, Varlamov received the starting nod again in Game 3.
The veteran Russian came up with some big stops especially in the second and third periods, which were largely controlled by the Bruins. His timely saves warranted enthusiastic 'Var-ly!' chants from the crowd throughout the game.
"Their power play was scary tonight and that's where Varly kept us in," Trotz said. "It was 1-0 and their power play looked really dangerous, they had a lot of really good looks and Varly kept us in the game and gave us a chance to tie it up and gave us a chance to win it in OT."
In a heavy second period as Boston outshot the Islanders 13-8, Varlamov shut the door on an especially lethal look from a Boston rush with a handful of minutes left in the frame. On the sequence, David Krejci tried to tap-in a feed on the backdoor, but Varlamov made the toe save.
In the third period and down a goal, the Islanders survived a big push, largely thanks to Varlamov. The Islanders goalie made 21 saves in the period to give his team a chance to win the game in overtime, especially as Boston received two power plays in the final frame.

PENALTY KILL PROVIDES BOOST

The Islanders penalty kill came through with two vital kills for the team that helped Boston from furthering it's 1-0 lead in the third period and in turn, giving the Islanders the opportunity to tie the game 1-1.
With a high-sticking penalty called on Andy Greene 1:38 into the period and a tripping call on Josh Bailey at 11:04, the Islanders' penalty kill came through 2-for-2.
Following the second kill on Bailey's penalty, the crowd was roaring to applaud the gritty, but noble work the Islanders' PK unit had just pulled off.

DOMINANT FACEOFF DRAWS

The Islanders held the edge in the faceoff circle as they posted a 56 FOW% over the Bruins. It was an impressive feat against Boston, who has boasted a strong FOW% all throughout the regular season and postseason.
The Islanders were especially strong and effective against Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron. Bergeron, who is one of the best in the NHL at draws, finished the night 6-for-18 (33.3%) in the circle with a 4-for-14 (29%) effort against Jean-Gabriel Pageau. Pageau finished the night 13-for-21 (62%) in the circle.

BONUS TAKEAWAY: NOTHING LIKE SOME JUNE HOCKEY

As Trotz likes to say, 'The hotter it gets, the more you want to be playing.'
Game 3 marked the first time in franchise history that the Islanders have played a Stanley Cup Playoff game in the month of June. Last season - in the 'bubble' Stanley Cup Playoffs - the team played an exhibition match against the New York Rangers in late July. Their subsequent Eastern Conference Final run lasted from August through September.
With June officially in the record books, the Islanders have now played regulation and playoff games in every month of the year.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Bruins return to Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night for Game 4. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:15 p.m.