Game Preview: Islanders at Bruins

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (28-23-7) AT BOSTON BRUINS (41-8-5)
5 PM | TD GARDEN
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The New York Islanders got the result they needed on Friday night. Now, they'll need another.
The Isles scored a thrilling 5-4 comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday night at UBS Arena, vaulting them into the second wild card berth in the Eastern Conference. In an ultra-tight race, which sees five teams separated by three points, following it up won't be easy, as the Isles tangle with the NHL-leading Boston Bruins.

"We fought this one out to the end," Anders Lee said following the win. "Our guys stuck with it and we found a way tonight and that's exactly what we needed to start this weekend. Let's just build off it."
Lee and Brock Nelson each had two goals and an assist, while Zach Parise scored the game-winning goal in his 1,200th game. Ilya Sorokin stopped 40 shots in the win.
The Bruins are coming off a 5-0 shutout win over the Nashville Predators on Thursday night. Brad Marchand, Craig Smith, Patrice Bergeron (1G, 1A), Derek Forbort and Trent Frederic scored for Boston, while Jeremy Swayman made 38 saves in the shutout.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• Brock Nelson extended his career-long point streak to 12 games on Friday night. Nelson has 16 points (9G, 7A) over that span. Nelson is the first Islanders player to have a 12-game point streak since John Tavares had one from Dec. 29, 2011 to Jan. 21, 2012. If Nelson can extend his streak, he'd be the first Islanders player to have a point in 13 straight since Mariusz Czerkawski on Jan. 22 to Feb. 19, 2000.
Nelson leads the Islanders with 24 goals and 55 points. He is second on the team with 31 assists.
• Lee's three-point game ended a mini drought for the Islanders' captain, who had one assist in his previous five contests. Lee is up to 21 goals on the season, marking the seventh time he's hit 20 goals in his career.
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Talkin' Isles
• With Sorokin playing on Friday, Semyon Varlamov is expected to start in goal for the Islanders on Saturday. Varlamov is coming off a 4-3 OT loss to the Montreal Canadiens last Saturday and is 2-0-1 in his last three games. The veteran netminder is 10-6-2 this season with a 2.64 GAA, a .917 SV% and one shutout. Varlamov has appeared in both games against the Bruins this season, going 0-1-1 with 50 saves on 57 shots.
• The Islanders power play is 6-for-17 since the all-star break, netting a goal on Friday night. The 35.3% conversion rate since the break ranks fourth in the league.
• Noah Dobson is riding a four-game point streak, with six total points (1G, 5A) over that span.

BRUINS NOTES:

• The Bruins lead the NHL with 87 points and swept both games of their recent road trip.
• The Islanders will see Jake DeBrusk on Saturday, as the 26-year-old winger is making his return to the lineup after a hand and leg injury kept him out of the lineup since the Winter Classic (17 games). DeBrusk has 30 points (16G, 14A) through 36 games this season, prior to Jan. 2.
"He's been cleared to play for a little while," Head Coach Jim Montgomery said on Friday afternoon. "[He's] getting back to checking the boxes to be ready mentally and physically."
• Defenseman Hampus Lindholm hit the career 200-assist milestone on Thursday against the Preds with two helpers in the game.
• David Pastrnak is on the brink of 300 career assists with 299 over nine NHL seasons. The 26-year-old leads the team in goals (39).
• Pavel Zacha scored his fifth goal of the season on Thursday against Nashville, reaching a career high in goals for the winger.
• The Bruins sport the best penalty kill in the league (86.1%)