Bruins-Islanders Notes: Boston Overcomes Poor Second Period In 5-2 Win

The second period has been a problem area for the Boston Bruins all season, and it was again in Thursday night’s 5-2 road win over the New York Islanders.

The Islanders scored twice in a seven-minute span to tie the score at 2 after the Bruins built a 2-0 lead after an impressive first period.

Boston’s second-period goals against total now stands at 48, which is 13 more than their first- and third-period totals and ranks 14th among all teams. The Buffalo Sabres are the worst second-period team with 60 goals against.

The B’s did score with four seconds remaining in the second period Thursday when Kevan Miller’s shot from the point found its way through traffic and into the back of the net, but playing better defensive hockey in the middle frame remains a weakness that must be addressed before the Stanley Cup playoffs.

— David Pastrnak was removed from Boston’s top line and placed on the third line with Chris Kelly and Carl Soderberg. The B’s rookie winger played more than 8:40 with Kelly and Soderberg at even strength, and the trio had a minus-4 shot attempt differential.

— Bruins center Patrice Bergeron scored his 12th goal of the season with a power-play tally in the first period. He used a sweet curl-and-drag move to get into a shooting position and fired a shot off the post and into the net. Bergeron also won 70 percent of his faceoffs and was on the ice for 24 Bruins shots for, 13 against for a plus-9 Corsi at even strength.

— The Adam McQuaid-Dennis Seidenberg defensive pairing had a tremendous night from a puck possession standpoint. They each helped the Bruins control 56 percent or more of even-strength shot attempts. They did start more of their 5-on-5 shifts in the attacking zone than normal, but it’s still impressive.

— The Bruins had only one power-play attempt and they made the most of it. They won puck battles, moved it well and scored courtesy of Bergeron. It was Boston’s ninth power-play tally in the last 16 games.

— The Bruins’ penalty kill went 2 for 2 versus the Islanders to improve to 40 for 42 in 11 games this month.

— The Islanders had a 69-54 shot attempt edge at even strength. The Bruins gave up a season-high 45 shots on goal, but Tuukka Rask stopped 43 of them to improve his January save percentage to .947.

— Boston has won seven of its last nine games and earned points from 14 of the last 16 games. The B’s moved ahead of the New York Rangers for the Eastern Conference’s first wild-card playoff spot and built their lead over the Florida Panthers to seven points as a result of Thursday’s victory. It should be noted that Boston has played three more games than both New York and Florida.