5 Takeaways: Islanders Score Second Win vs Bruins

The East-Division leading Boston Bruins only have two regulation losses this season - and both of them have come at the hands of the New York Islanders.
The Islanders beat the Bruins 4-2 on Saturday night, as the Islanders extended their point streak to six games (3-0-3).

"Their record speaks for itself this year and when you're able to beat a team like that a couple of times that should give your group confidence that you're right up there with the best of them," Jordan Eberle said.
Mathew Barzal broke a 2-2 tie with a power-play goal at 5:30 of the third period, extending his personal point streak to a career-high eight games. JG Pageau (2G, including 1SHG) and Eberle also scored for the Islanders, while Brad Marchand (1G, 1A), Patrice Bergeron (1G, 1A) and David Pastrnak (2A) accounted for the Bruins' offense.
Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves in the win, while Tuukka Rask stopped 38 shots in the loss.
With the win, the Islanders have beaten the Bruins twice in the same season for the first time since 2016-17.
Here are five takeaways from an A effort over the Bs.

ISLES OUTWORK BRUINS IN CHARACTER WIN:

Fresh off a 1-0 win over the Rangers on Friday night, Boston carried the momentum into the start of Saturday's contest, taking a 1-0 lead at 8:41 of the first period.
Marchand opened the scoring with his ninth goal of the season, capping off a lenghty Bruins cycle. It looked like Boston had their sea legs early, with a herky-jerky Islanders squad icing the puck on several occasions.
ISLANDERS VS BRUINS
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ISLANDERS BRUINS VIDEO
Pageau's SHG
Barzal's PPG
Eberle's Clapper
Pageau's Goal
Postgame: Trotz
Postgame: Pageau & Komarov
KINGER'S CALLS
Barzal's PPG
Eberle's Clapper
Pageau's Goal
But the Islanders responded, both in the short-term, as Pageau scored the first of his two goals less than three minutes later, and in the long run, outshooting the Bruins 42-30 on the evening. The 42 shots for were a season-high for the Islanders and a season-high allowed by the Bruins, who entered the game as the league's top defensive team.
"We played an Islander-style playoff game against the Bruins," Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "I felt we jumped on them. Our start wasn't real great, but we got our traction about eight minutes into the first and started going."
It was the kind of character response Trotz said was missing from his team during their five-game winless streak a few weeks previously. Instead of letting a goal snowball, the Islanders picked themselves up and pushed back.
The Isles outshot Boston 15-7 in the first period, 15-9 in the second period and held the fort both after Barzal's go-ahead goal and during an Eberle penalty.
"I liked our response, it tells you a lot about the group," Trotz said. "We went through that stretch in the four-or-five games there where something would go wrong for us and we let it linger. I liked the fact that we just got back on the saddle."
The Islanders credited the effort to putting pucks behind the Bruins defense and wearing down a team that played in a chippy game the night before. The Islanders outhit the Bruins 36-27, outblocked them 13-12 and won the special teams battle, going one-for-one on the power play and two-for-two on the PK.
"We showed some character and stuck to our game," Pageau said. "We outworked them, every line that got out there really worked hard."

PAGEAU PACES ISLES:

On a night where the Islanders middle six carried the offense, JG Pageau stood out. The Islanders forward scored a pair of goals, including a shorthanded marker, took a game-high seven shots and won 9-of-18 draws on a night where the Islanders won 37% as a team.
Pageau's converged on the net with Leo Komarov to sweep in a Ryan Pulock rebound at 11:36 of the first period to extend his goal streak to two games. In the third, the 28-year-old took a nice breakaway feed from Komarov and beat Rask low for the shorthanded marker with 5:28 to play.
Pageau's shorthanded goal was his 14th since the start of the 2014-15 season, tied with Cam Atkinson for second in the NHL over that span, one behind Marchand.
Komarov recorded two assists on Pageau's goals, his first multi-assist game since Jan. 2, 2016.

BARZAL EXTENDS STREAK:

Mathew Barzal extended his point streak to a career-high eight games on Saturday, scoring a power-play goal in the third period.
Barzal potted a nifty, cross-ice, spin-o-rama feed from Anders Lee at 5:30, taking the pass and roofing it up high on Tuukka Rask.
The goal was Barzal's sixth of the season, tying him with Eberle for the team lead. Over the past eight games, Barzal has 10 points (4G, 6A), marking the longest point streak of the 23-year-old's career.
While Trotz said Barzal's 200-foot game wasn't his strongest of the run, he praised Barzal for providing a goal in a big moment, his second straight game with a third-period marker.
"During this eight-game run, he's player offensively," Trotz said. "I love the fact that he's creating, I love the fact that he's taking the puck to the net and using his speed and his skill. Today I was glad he produced on the power play. He's shooting the puck more and getting results, but it was probably his weakest game in the eight previous… but he got a result."

EBERLE CONTINUES HOT START:

Eberle put the Islanders ahead 2-1 at 15:16 of the first period, beating Rask with a half slapper off the wall. It appeared Eberle was shooting for a rebound with the puck caroming off the goalie's right pad and in. The goal was Eberle's sixth of the season, marking his best 13-game start of his 11-year NHL career.
Eberle had no goals in 13 games last season, four at this point in 2018-19 and had five in 15 games to start 2017-18, albeit with none in his first 10.
Eberle also picked up the second assist on Barzal's goal in the third period, giving the winger a two-point night. Eberle is second on the team in scoring with nine points (6G, 3A).

LOU 1300:

With the win, Islanders President and General Manager Lou Lamoriello recorded his 1,300th career victory. Lamoriello is third on the NHL's all-time list, trailing Nashville Predators GM David Poile (1,421) and former Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers GM Glen Sather (1,319).
"It's a tremendous milestone and that's a huge number," Trotz said. "It says a lot about what Lou has accomplished as a general manager. He's about winning it's not a surprise that he has that many wins under his belt. It's pretty exceptional for a Hall of Fame general manager. I've been fortunate in my career to work for some really good general managers, but two of the top three, they're exceptional gentlemen and there's a reason why they win."

NEXT GAME:

After four straight games in the New York area - three at the Coliseum and one at MSG - the Islanders head back out on the road for four straight, beginning with a back-to-back set on Monday and Tuesday in Buffalo.