Game Preview: Islanders at Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (21-8-4) VS BOSTON BRUINS (16-8-4)
7PM | TD GARDEN
WATCH:MSG+2| MSG GO | NHL.TV
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After two days without a game for the first time since Feb. 23 and 24 the New York Islanders are back in the mix as they travel to Boston to face the Bruins on Thursday night. The tilt between the two East Division clubs was originally scheduled to be a pair of games, but the first game on Tuesday was postponed as Boston had five players (Jake DeBrusk, Sean Kuraly, David Krejci, David Pastrnak and Craig Smith) named to the NHL's COVID Protocol list on March 19. Pastrnak, Krejci and Smith were removed from the list on Wednesday.

The Islanders enter Thursday's game coming off of a 2-1 overtime win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Monday night. Anthony Beauvillier notched the OT winner with a wraparound, while Oliver Wahlstrom scored the tying goal in the third period. Ilya Sorokin was sensational between the pipes, as the rookie earned his eighth-straight win and stopped a season-high of 36 shots.
With Saturday's game against Buffalo and Tuesday's game against the Islanders postponed, the Bruins have not played a game since March 16 when they defeated Buffalo 4-1. DeBrusk and Pastrnak scored on the power play while Greg McKegg and Smith also found the back of the net. Jaroslav Halak made 23 saves in the win.
The Islanders have bested Boston in their season series with a 4-0-0 record and outscored the Bruins 14-5.
"They plan a man's game, they play a 200-foot game," Islanders Head Coach Barry Trotz said. "If you're not committed to go the 200-feet, committed to win the small battles, then you aren't going to beat the Boston Bruins, there's not way. And you've got to stay disciplined; they've got a really good power play with their No. 1 line [the Perfection Line]. You've got to keep their No. 1 line in check and they're basically their power play. You've got to play a really solid game. You've got to manage the moment and the situation. You've got to have a lot of people back because they can hurt you in a lot of different ways."

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Sorokin's eight-straight wins are a franchise record for consecutive rookie victories and also a league record for Russian rookies. The 25-year-old goalie now has a record of 8-2-1, a 1.97 GAA and a .922 SV%.
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• Wahlstrom's goal was his eighth of the season and third in the last four games. The 20-year-old winger is riding a four game point streak with five points (3G, 2A) during that span. Wahlstrom's eight goals are the third most among rookies in the NHL. He is also tied with Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov - who leads the league in rookie scoring with 10 this season - for the most goals among NHL rookies since February 22nd with seven.
• After going nine games without a goal and eight games without a point, Beauvillier now has goals in back-to-back games. The 23-year-old winger's OT winner was his fourth goal of the season and he now has eight points through 24 games.
• Jean-Gabriel Pageau assisted on both of the Islanders goals and now has three points (1G, 2A) in his last two games. Pageau is tied with Jordan Eberle for the second-most goals among the Islanders leaderboard (10G). Pageau is ranked 14th overall in the NHL in with a 56.9 FOW% and ranks fifth overall in defensive zone faceoff wins with 127.
• Noah Dobson missed his fifth-straight game after being placed on the NHL's COVID Protocol list on March 14. In his place on Monday, Thomas Hickey played in his second-straight game. Trotz said Dobson, who came off the COVID list on Wednesday, will not accompany the team to Boston.
• The Islanders have allowed the fewest goals against in the NHL with an average of 2.18 GA per game.
• The Islanders are 10-2-0 this month which is the most wins the team has had in March in 39 years.

BRUINS NOTES:

*Update: Head Coach Bruce Cassidey confirmed that Tuukka Rask will start against the Islanders.
• Boston returned to the ice for practice on Wednesday for the first time since its pause. Krejci, Pastrnak and Smith were removed from the NHL's COVID Protocol list while DeBrusk and Kuraly remained on the list.
•

that Kuraly will not play against the Islanders on Thursday. Cassidy also said he does not expect Brandon Carlo or Jeremy Lauzon will be available to play against the Islanders, but will further evaluate Tuukka Rask (undisclosed), Zach Senyhsyn (upper body), Frederic (lower body), and Jarred Tinordi (upper body) following morning skate tomorrow.
• Pastrnak scored his second power-play goal in as many games on March 16 and now has four goals in his last six games. The Czech winger now has 26 points (14G, 12A) in 21 games. Pastrnak's 14 goals and his six power-play strikes are the best among the Bruins.
• DeBrusk's goal was his third of the season and the winger now has seven points through 21 games.
• Smith scored his fifth goal of the season. The 31-year-old now has 10 points through 27 games.
• McKegg's goal was his first of the season with the Bruins in just his second game with the club.
• With an assist on Pastrnak's goal, Marchand extended his point streak to three games with as many assists in that span. The winger also now has seven points on seven assists in his last six games. Marchand's 22 assists and 34 points are the most among the Bs.
• Boston's power play that went 2-for-5 against Buffalo ranks ninth overall (25%) in the NHL. Their penalty kill that went 1-for-1 against the Sabres is the top-ranked PK unit in the league at 89.4%.
• The Bruins rank in the top five for shots for and shots against in the NHL. On average, the team puts up 31.6 shots per game (fourth-best in the league). On the flipside, Boston averages the second-fewest shots against per game at 26.8.
• In the faceoff circle, Boston is the top-ranked team at 56.4 FOW%. Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron ranks fourth overall among players in the NHL at draws with his 62.5 FOW%.
• Cassidy also provided an update on veteran defenseman John Moore, who has played in just five games this season. Cassidy confirmed that Moore recently underwent surgery for an undisclosed injury.