Takeaways: Islanders Fall 3-1 to Bruins

The New York Islanders fell 3-1 to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night.

Mathew Barzal scored the lone goal for the Islanders in the loss. Alex Steeves scored a pair of goals - including a shorthanded tally - and Tanner Jeannot (GWG) scored for the Bruins. Ilya Sorokin turned aside 11 of 14 shots, while Jeremy Swayman made 44 saves in the win.

“We didn’t even play our best game, but we put up 40+ shots and had some good looks,” Captain Anders Lee said. “Swayman played good, we just got to get in front of his face a little bit more.”

The season series wrapped relatively early in the season, as the Isles were winless in three games (0-2-1) against tBruins. With the two points, the Bruins tied the Isles in the standings with 28 points.

TAKEAWAYS

- Like the previous two meetings between the two teams, the Islanders got off to a hot start offensively, but the Bruins battled back. The Isles built a 2-0 lead in an eventual 5-2 loss on Oct. 28 and struck first in a 4-3 OT loss on Nov. 4 - and the Bruins found a way to tie the game and eventually win in all three games.

- Barzal opened the scoring with a silky goal for his seventh of the season at the 4:41 mark of the first period. He was patient and slid around Swayman to deposit the puck behind his pads from behind the goal line.

- The Bruins scored three unanswered goals to pull away with the win. Boston got one right back 1:42 after Barzal’s goal, as Steeves was opportunistic in front of the net and quickly got a shot off behind Sorokin’s right pad to tie the score at the 6:23 mark of the opening frame. Jeannot went top shelf in the right circle to grab the go-ahead goal, while Steeves struck again with a shorthanded goal in the middle of the third period, making the Isles’ comeback bid an uphill climb.

- Through a matchup where the Isles recorded a season-high 45 shots on goal, the Islanders couldn’t capitalize on their chances. Matthew Schaefer recorded a team-high seven shots on goal, while Lee and Kyle Palmieri each contributed six. Bo Horvat had a team-high 11 shot attempts, but only two on net. Head Coach Patrick Roy boiled it down to needing more quality chances and creating more consistent traffic around the net.

- The power play coming up dry through four opportunities was a factor in the loss. The Islanders went 0-for-4 on the man advantage – extending their drought to 0-for-27 over their last nine games – while they gave up a shorthanded goal in the third period.

“Our power play was not as sharp as it was in the other games in the way that our entries were a little too cute,” Roy said. “We tried to force plays instead of trying to get the puck deep.”

- Though they were only tested once, the Islanders’ shorthanded units fared well against a Bruins power play that was converting at 26.5% and ranked fourth in the league entering the night, going 1-for-1.

- With a secondary assist on Barzal’s goal, Schaefer snapped a five-game pointless stretch.Barzal and Schaefer’s chemistry was on display – the two recorded the primary assist on each other’s OT winners earlier in the month – as they teamed up to break into the Bruins zone that led to Barzal’s opening tally.

- The Islanders have scored two goals (not including the shootout) in their last three games.

- The Islanders are 1-5-0 in games where they recorded 35+ shots on goal this season.

- The Bruins put forth a strong defensive effort in addition to solid goaltending. Simon Holmstrom’s shot leaked through Swayman, but Hampus Lindholm got his stick in the crease to clear the puck before Schaefer could get to it.

NEXT GAME

The Islanders host the Philadelphia Flyers for a Black Friday matchup at 4PM.