Bear Attack: Bruins Survive Islanders Comeback; Win 6-3

ELMONT, NY — The New York Islanders (8-10-5) sunk to a new low on Thanksgiving Eve 2024. On a night where they held the opposition to just 21 shots on goal, the Boston Bruins (11-10-3) scored six. Ilya Sorokin did not have his best night, but his team needed to offer him more assistance on the ones that went in, too.

The Bruins played last night in Boston and got shutout 2-0. The Bruins hadn’t had a two-goal lead in a game since November 7th. The Bruins entered with just 10 third-period goals in 23 games. Despite all their woes, Boston turned it all around. They scored a six-pack of goals, all while outworking and out-skating the alleged more-rested Islanders who did not play yesterday, let alone in another city.

Pavel Zacha’s pair of third-period goals lifted the Bruins over New York in a back-and-forth game. Brad Marchand had another pair, while Morgan Geekie scored his second of the year. Finally, Nikita Zadorov scored his first as a Bruin with an empty net goal. Joonas Korpisalo denied 21/24 shots.

For the Islanders, Brock Nelson stayed hot and scored a pair of goals and a primary assist. Maxim Tsyplakov broke his 11-game goalless streak with a first-period tally. Sorokin posted his worst start of the year and denied just 15/20 shots that came his way.

For the 17h consecutive game, the Islanders allowed at least one third-period goal. For the fifth time in six games, the Islanders had a clear chance to win the game in the final frame but found a way to lose instead.

First Period:

The Bruins came out and grabbed the Islanders by the scruff of their neck. Boston had a 1-0 just 57 seconds into the game and a 2-0 lead just 6:31 in.

Both goals came courtesy of the Bruins’ captain, Brad Marchand. Marchand scored his first off a set play on an offensive zone face-off. Elias Lindholm won the draw directly to him, where Marchand ripped his one-timer past Sorokin. Marchand’s second came after he and Justin Brazeau bowled over Scott Mayfield and Dennis Cholowski, sending them to the cleaners as Marchand put the loose change into the piggy bank.

That horrid start prompted Head Coach Patrick Roy to call his timeout. The timeout settled the ship, and the Islanders forced some pressure, eventually resulting in Tsyplakov’s goal. Parker Wotherspoon had a terrible giveaway to Nelson, who slipped it to Tsyplakov alone in front. “Tsypy,” as his teammates call him, beat Korpisalo five-hole.

The goal gave the Islanders momentum and life, which they carried into the second.

Second Period:

Almost halfway into the second, the Islanders received another gift. This one in the form of Mason Lohrei whiffing on a bouncing puck. Nelson said thank you and walked into the zone opposed and rifled home his first of the night, cleanly past Korpisalo’s glove. Once down 2-0, they found themselves tied 2-2 and with the fresher legs.

Three minutes later, Alexander Romanov chucked the puck right into David Pastrnak. Zacha grabbed the loose biscuit and tossed it to Geekie on the backdoor, who slammed it in unopposed. The turnover from Romanov baffled the mind, and it wouldn’t be the last time he made a boneheaded mistake in the defensive zone.

Luckily for the Islanders, they again regrouped. Late in the period, Zadorov failed to clear the puck cleanly. The Islanders took possession for the last 30 seconds of the frame, slowly exhausting the Bruins. The puck found Nelson’s stick on the left wall. He stepped in and beat Korpisalo on his glove side with just 6.5 seconds left in the second period. It was the weakest goal Korpisalo allowed in the game.

Heading to the third, it was a brand new ballgame.

Third Period:

Down 2-0 and 3-2, the Islanders found a way to have the game tied 3-3. They had yesterday off while the Bruins hosted the Vancouver Canucks. Surely, the fresher legs would shine through, and they’d find a way to get a win.

For the first 10 or so minutes, the Islanders looked better. Bo Horvat had a couple of chances, but nothing went in. The Islanders tried Simon Holmstrom with Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau to increase speed to no avail. It felt like a breakthrough might be imminent.

Instead, with under 10 minutes to play, Zacha outmuscled Cholowski in front of the net and redirected a shot past Sorokin as Mayfield, without anyone near him, stood in Sorokin’s crease and inadvertently prevented any chance Sorokin might’ve had at coming up with the save.

Two and a half minutes later, Romanov got bullied off the puck by Pastrnak, who cleanly pickpocketed the Islanders’ shutdown defensemen. Pastrnak centered it to Zacha, whose backhand beat Sorokin clean in tight.

Game over. Everyone knew that was the game. Fans started chanting, “Fire Lou!” Fans exited. In front of a pro-Bruins crowd, the Islanders got the game’s only power play with under five minutes left. Roy pulled the goalie. A 6-on-4 opportunity to at least maintain possession? Nope. The Bruins, at the very end of their back-to-back with travel, outworked the Islanders, and Zadorov, who took the penalty, scored on the empty net on his way out of the box.

Closing Thoughts:

What’s one more damning performance on the eve of Thanksgiving? Of all the many losses that have taken place in the third period, this, to me, is one of the worst.

Boston, a team struggling mightily to score or build leads, dropped six. They had two separate two-goal leads when they hadn’t even had one since November 7th.

After Philadelphia and Columbus scored points, the Islanders fell to seventh in the Metropolitan Division. When the Ottawa Senators win over the San Jose Sharks goes final, they’ll also be 14th in the Eastern Conference.

No, the season isn’t over. Yes, the Islanders can bounce back like they have in the past two years. But heading into Thanksgiving, the Islanders seem more like mediocre Thanksgiving leftovers– old, mediocre, and leaving you with an aftertaste that makes you wish you never bothered in the first place.