Islanders use five-goal third period to defeat Bruins

UNIONDALE, N.Y. --The New York Islanders scored five goals in the third period for a 7-2 win against the Boston Bruins at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday.

Anthony Beauvillier scored the go-ahead goal at 5:41, and Jordan Eberle, Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Anders Lee and Oliver Wahlstrom followed with goals 5:48 apart for New York (10-6-3), which is 6-0-1 at home. Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves.
"We're chasing Boston here," Lee said. "This division is extremely tight, it always has been, and with the way this season is laid out, every game is extremely important. We still have work to do, but anytime you can close the gap a little bit, it's just a good evening."
Nick Ritchie and Craig Smith scored, and Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves for Boston (11-4-2), which has lost three of four and is 0-3-0 against New York.
"We've been tied every game going into the third (against the Islanders)," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. " … It's how they play. I'd like to think we were on our game. We were pretty structured and responsible and how we can put teams away. They beat us at our game a little bit in terms of not beating yourself. We beat ourselves in the third period, clearly."

Beauvillier gave New York a 3-2 lead when he stole the puck from forward Trent Frederic in front of the Bruins net and scored on a backhand. It was Beauvillier's first goal of the season in his 10th game.
"That's nice, I love seeing him smile," Islanders forward Mathew Barzal said. "He loves scoring, so whenever he gets one or a guy like that who hasn't had one yet and he gets one, that's definitely a big boost for the bench. Everyone loves seeing him score."
Eberle made it 4-2 when he finished a 2-on-1 with Barzal at 10:45.
Pageau scored on a shorthanded breakaway at 12:24 to make it 5-2. It was Pageau's second shorthanded goal against the Bruins, and of his eight goals overall, four have come against Boston.
Lee then made it 6-2 at 14:44 with his Islanders-leading ninth of the season, and Wahlstrom scored his second NHL goal on a rebound at 16:33 for the 7-2 final.
"There wasn't any [urgency in the third period], so that's a problem. I don't usually see that with our club," Cassidy said. "We've got some young players in the lineup, so we're going to live with certain mistakes. … It's a good defensive team; they don't give you much. You need to have patience.
"We found our game halfway through the first, into the second. We're in a good position in the third, and we made some poor decisions."
Ritchie gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 1:02 of the first period on a redirection of Jakub Zboril's pass from the right circle.
Adam Pelech scored his first goal of the season on a rebound near the left post to tie it 1-1 at 3:16.

Barzal took a stretch pass from Nick Leddy and scored from the left circle on a 2-on-1 with Eberle to give New York a 2-1 lead at 12:39.
Smith tied it 2-2 at 11:36 of the second period when his attempted pass to Jack Studnicka hit Matt Martin's stick in the slot and got past Varlamov.
"Tie game going into the third period against arguably the best team in the League, that's a good test for us," Barzal said. "Anytime you get a chance to go up against one of the best teams in the League, it's just a good challenge for our group and I thought we really rose to the forefront tonight."
NOTES:Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck did not play after the first period because of an undisclosed injury. Coach Barry Trotz said he's "not too concerned" about the severity. … It was Halak's first start against the Islanders since Jan. 25, 2014, a 4-3 win with the St. Louis Blues. He played for New York from 2014-18 before signing with Boston as an unrestricted free agent. … Bruins forward David Pastrnak played his 400th NHL game. … Varlamov was credited with the secondary assist on Barzal's goal. … Islanders center Casey Cizikas got his 100th NHL assist on Wahlstrom's goal.