Islanders Game 58: Bruins Await, Dobson’s Return; Lines & How to Watch

BOSTON – The New York Islanders (25-25-7) visit the Boston Bruins (27-24-8) in TD Garden tonight. The puck drops just after 7 o’clock. Both teams enter on the back of two humiliating losses.

The New York Rangers laid a proper smackdown on the Islanders in UBS Arena on Tuesday night, with the score finished 5-1. Ilya Sorokin did not finish the game and was pulled after allowing five goals on 11 shots. Then, at practice the next day, Head Coach Patrick Roy ripped into his team. The good news? Noah Dobson and Hudson Fasching return from prolonged absences due to injury.

As for the Bruins, they allowed their hated rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, to successfully erase a 3-0 deficit en route to a 5-4 OT win at TD Garden. Fun stat, courtesy of The Chris Johnston Show (SDPN), the loss was the first time the Bruins blew a three goal lead in a loss to the Leafs since 1963. Yeah, 61 years ago! Also, their captain, Brad Marchand, continually hears his name in trade talks as their general manager waved the white flag on their season. Earlier this afternoon, the Bruins waived old friend Oliver Wahlstrom.

It’s safe to say that two angry teams should be taking the ice tonight. Dobson spoke with the media about his return and said,”[I’m] excited to be back. Obviously, it sucks when you miss an extended period of time, but I feel good.”

Dobson added it’s a bit of a mental challenge as well, but it helps that every team is still fully shaking off the cobwebs of the 4 Nations Face-Off.

New York Islanders Lines:

Anders Lee – Bo Horvat – Anthony Duclair

Simon Holmstrom – Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri

Casey Cizikas – Jean-Gabriel Pageau – Maxim Tsyplakov

Hudson Fasching – Kyle MacLean – Marc Gatcomb

Defense & Goalies

Alexander Romanov – Anthony DeAngelo

Adam Pelech – Noah Dobson

Adam Boqvist – Ryan Pulock

Ilya Sorokin (Jakub Skarek)

Boston Bruins Lines:

Morgan Geekie – Pavel Zacha – David Pastrnak

Brad Marchand – Elias Lindholm – Charlie Coyle

Riley Tufte – Matthew Poitras – Justin Brazeau

Cole Koepke – John Beecher – Mark Kastellic

Defense & Goalies

Nikita Zadorov – Brandon Carlo

Mason Lohrei – Andrew Peeke

Michael Callahan – Parker Wotherspoon

Jeremy Swagman (Joonas Korpisalo)

Special Teams:

Islanders Power Play: 11.3%, 32nd; Islanders Penalty Kill: 70.3%, 31st

Bruins Power Play: 15.4%, 29th; Bruins Penalty Kill: 75.5%, 25th

How to Watch:

TV: MSGSN, ESPN+ Out of Market

Radio: 88.7 WRHU (FM)