Islanders Stave Off Bruins Comeback To Win 5-4 in OT

BOSTON – After two straight one-goal efforts, the New York Islanders (15-18-7) defeated the Boston Bruins (20-17-5) 5-4 in overtime on Sunday evening in TD Garden. Bo Horvat won the game in OT in a thrilling back-and-forth game.

The Islanders entered the final frame up 3-2. Then, captain Anders Lee scored his second of the game to put the Islanders up 4-2.

Enter David Pastrnak. 54 seconds after Lee’s first, he scored a classic Pastrnak one-timer off an inexplicable Jean-Gabriel Pageau turnover. Later in the third, Pastrnak scored his second after he bullied Alexander Romanov on the backdoor for a tap-in.

The superstar’s takeover in the third flipped the game and carried the Bruins to an overtime point.

Entering tonight, the Bruins had gone 3-15-0 when trailing after two periods. That number moved to 3-15-1, as the Bruins, fresh of a game in Toronto last night, battle back for their first point in four games.

In the win, Ilya Sorokin made 26 saves. On the flip side, Joonas Korpisalo turned away 32 shots.

Lee scored twice for New York, while Ryan Pulock added a goal and two assists for his first three-point game since November 26, 2022, against the Philadelphia Flyers.

First Period:

The first period started out in nightmarish fashion for the Islanders. Just 3:01 in, Hudson Fasching turned the puck over on an attempted dump-in. Charlie McAvoy sprung Mark Kastellic, who flew up through the neutral zone and into Islanders ice. There, he sent a pass through the crease that hit Cole Koepke’s stick, bouncing off his body, over Sorokin, and in to make it 1-0 Boston.

Islanders’ Head Coach Patrick Roy challenged for goalie interference as Koepke entered the crease and bumped Sorokin as the puck fluttered in. Had it been reversed, it would’ve been a soft reversal. Instead, just 3:01 in, the Islanders headed to an early kill down 1-0.

21 seconds later, Horvat tied the game. Ryan Pulock sprung Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau for a clean 2-on-1 rush with Pageau carrying. He carried all the way into the zone, where he snuck a pass through clean ton Horvat, who calmly shot it past a sprawling Korpisalo. After the goal, they allowed no space for the Bruins to operate and killed off the man advantage.

Pregame, Roy discussed the need for the kill to gain confidence and build on a strong performance against the Toronto Maple Leafs. In just about the most precarious of positions, the Islanders’ kill found a way to not only get an important early kill but also tie the game and flip the momentum.

2:11 later, Mathew Barzal danced around, walked the blue line, and sent a pass to Pulock. Pulock flung a shot on goal that beat Korpisalo through the screens of Anders Lee and Brock Nelson.

Afterward, the Islanders and Bruins settled into a slower chess match that lasted through the rest of the period. In the last minute, the Islanders’ line of Horvat, Anthony Duclair, and Kyle Palmieri found themselves hemmed in and nearly coughed off a late equalizer, but Sorokin did just enough to keep it out and keep the game tied at 1.

Second Period:

After a slower second half of the first period, the second period was anything but boring. Right off the opening draw, the Bruins seized control. They cycled around the Islanders and came very close to tying the score at 2-2.

The closest the Bruins came was after Adam Pelech deflected away a McAvoy backdoor pass to a wide-open David Pastrnak. It can’t be overstated how important that play by Pelech was; otherwise, Pastrnak would have had a tap-in.

Moments later, Alexander Romanov sprung Lee for a 2-on-1 with Noah Dobson. Lee kept and sent an absolute snipe to the far-side corner of the net, right over the glove of a helpless Korpisalo. The goal doubled the lead for New York to 3-1. Lee’s 17th of the season comes just one year removed from scoring only 20 goals. He later added his 18th of the season.

Just past the midway point of the frame, Andrew Peeke went on a prolonged rush. Dennis Cholowski allowed him time and space on the outside, and he dished a pass to Justin Brazeau, whose one-timer beat Sorokin clean to cut the Islanders edge to 3-2. Bo Horvat failed to keep Brazeau covered. Horvat likely would’ve broken up the pass if Brazeau had been a lefty.

The game then opened up and did not slow down for the rest of the period. On the first shift after the Boston goal, the Islanders’ fourth line came as close as possible to making it 4-2. Korpisalo robbed Hudson Fasching twice in tight as the line poured as many as five shots on goal with one shift, multiple Grade-A’s, too.

As the period wound down, Sorokin made a sparkling blocker save on Pavel Zacha off a rush with just 11 seconds left in the frame, sending the Islanders and Bruins to the third period with the Islanders up 3-2. The Islanders funneled 17 shots at Korpisalo in the second period but scored just once. Through two periods, the Islanders outshot Boston 29-18.

Third Period and Overtime:

The third period began and is a tale of two bad third-period teams. The Bruins entered today just 3-15-0 when trailing to start the third period. Meanwhile, the Islanders’ woes in holding third-period leads have been well-documented.

With both teams entering on a three-game skid, something had to give.

Initially, that thing broke in the Islanders’ favor. Lee made a filthy move in-tight after Pulock sent him the pass. Lee faked and went backhand, where he roofed it past Korpisalo. Could the Islanders breathe, up 4-2 against a team that entered 3-15-0 when trailing after 40?

Of course not. Pastrnak, after nearly scoring earlier, scored just 54 seconds after Lee, and it was 4-3 just like that. Pageau made a shockingly bad blind, backhand pass, which Boston picked off. Morgan Geekie slid it to Pastrnak, who ripped a one-timer right from his wheelhouse past Sorokin.

From then on, it became all about the Boston Bruins. They pushed, pushed, and pushed again. Finally, Pastrnak scored again. He beat Romanov to the backdoor, where Pavel Zacha found his stick after Pastrnak simply outmuscled Romanov. It’s not a goal where your strongest defender can get beat, and it cost the Islanders a two-goal lead.

From there, the game pacified and slowly went to overtime, with both teams happy to collect a point, having both lost three straight.

In the extra frame, the Bruins surged with early chances. Sorokin kept them out. Finally, Brad Marchand fired a shot off Sorokin’s pad, where the rebound flew out. Horvat won the race and fired a shot that squeaked through Korpisalo for the victory.

It’s the Islanders’ first win of 2025 and snaps a three-game skid. Their next game is Thursday night in Las Vegas against the Golden Knights.