Islanders recover, defeat Bruins in OT in Game 2

Casey Cizikas scored at 14:48 of overtime, and the New York Islanders evened the Stanley Cup Second Round with a 4-3 win against the Boston Bruins in Game 2 at TD Garden in Boston on Monday.

Cizikas won it on a breakaway after a turnover by defenseman Jeremy Lauzon at the Bruins blue line. It was his first goal in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since Game 4 of the 2015 Eastern Conference First Round against the Washington Capitals.
"It's been a real long time," Cizikas said. "You're just trying to do the right things in overtime, be in the right spots. I was lucky enough for that puck to pop off in the middle there and give me an opportunity to get that one.
"You definitely think about it. You want to contribute, you want to score goals. But at the end of the day, that's not our line's (Cizikas, Matt Martin, Cal Clutterbuck) goal. We want to create havoc out there, we want to create momentum for the line after us and put them in good spots. It was definitely nice, but we're going to keep working, we're going to keep doing what makes us successful as a line, and that's working hard and grinding it out."
Kyle Palmieri and Jean-Gabriel Pageau each had a goal and an assist for the Islanders, the No. 4 seed from the MassMutual East Division.

Semyon Varlamov made 39 saves in his first start since Game 3 of the first round, a 5-4 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 20. Ilya Sorokin started the previous four games, including a 5-2 loss to the Bruins in Game 1 on Saturday.
Varlamov, who went 5-1-0 against Boston during the regular season, extended the game when he made a save on Taylor Hall's rebound chance at 13:06 of overtime.
"It was a pretty easy decision," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. "We have two really good goaltenders. … [Varlamov's] a veteran, he's not scared of these moments and he's been a rock for us all year."
Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand scored in the third period for the Bruins, the No. 3 seed. Tuukka Rask made 35 saves.
"[Stuff] happens," Marchand said of Lauzon's turnover. "He's a great player for us. He competes very hard and he's out there every night working his butt off and competing for the group. We all make mistakes, we've all been there. It's tough when it happens to you, but we're going to bounce back. It's not the end of the world, it's 1-1 and we've just to work with that next one.
"It's all about how we regroup in here and move forward. That's the thing about playoffs, you've got to kind of be like an elephant and have a quick memory and just worry about the next day."
Bergeron cut it to 3-2 at 10:34 of the third period with a one-timer between the top of the circles.
Marchand tied it 3-3 with 4:54 remaining from the left circle on a power play after the Islanders were penalized for having too many men on the ice.
"Third period was better where we went low-to-high, getting that part of our offense activated and involved," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "We did a better job, but not good enough early on, and obviously at the end it cost us."

Charlie Coyle scored on the Bruins' first shot at 2:38 of the first period when he powered his way past Nick Leddy in the left circle and stuffed a shot past Varlamov at the far post.
Josh Bailey tied it 1-1 at 6:52 of the second when his shot from the top of the right circle hit Lauzon and trickled between Rask's legs for a power-play goal.
Palmieri knocked in Leddy's rebound off the end boards at 11:00 to give the Islanders a 2-1 lead, and Pageau made it 3-1 with a one-timer off a pass from Beauvillier at the edge of the crease for another power-play goal at 17:21.

The Islanders are expected to have 12,000 fans at Nassau Coliseum for Game 3 on Thursday (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVAS), which would be their largest crowd of the season.
"It's going to be exciting," Cizikas said. "We know how that barn rocks, and we're going to build off of that crowd and we're looking forward to it."
NOTES:New York was 2-for-3 on the power play. Boston was 1-for-2. … Rask played his 100th NHL playoff game. … Marchand's assist on Bergeron's goal was his 100th career point in the playoffs. … Bruins forward Karlson Kuhlman had an assist in 12:51 of ice time playing in place of Craig Smith, who sustained a lower-body injury in Game 1. … Islanders forward Oliver Wahlstrom missed his third straight game because of a lower-body injury.