BOSTON — Welcome back, Ryan Donato.
Donato, who spent the bulk of November in Providence, was recalled to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday and quickly made his presence felt in his first game back with the big club. After a back-and-forth tilt with the New York Islanders, Donato notched the game-winner in the fourth round of the shootout, earning the B’s a hard-fought 2-1 victory at TD Garden.
Tuukka Rask was sensational in net, turning away 28 of 29 shots, as well as another four in the shootout.
With the win, the Bruins climb to 14-7-4, while the Islanders drop to 12-9-3.
Here’s how it all went down:
ISLES STRIKE FIRST
It wasn’t pretty, but the Islanders managed to draw first blood.
After some slick maneuvering from Mathew Barzal, the young forward dished the puck to Scott Mayfield, who rifled a shot on net. With a loose puck in the Bruins’ goalmouth, Anders Lee seized the opportunity, backhanding the puck past Rask to give the visitors an early 1-0 lead.
Despite what the score indicated, Boston largely was the aggressor in the first period, outshooting New York by a 13-7 margin. It was a fairly heavy opening frame as well, as the two teams combined for 28 hits.
PICTURE-PERFECT POWER PLAY
The Bruins made sure their first power play opportunity of the game didn’t go to waste.
Boston got on the man advantage following a Nick Leddy high-sticking penalty on David Backes with just over nine minutes remaining the second period. It didn’t take very long for the B’s to cash in, as David Pastrnak weaved up ice before dishing a tape-to-tape backhanded pass to Brad Marchand, who potted his seventh goal of the season.
The Bruins by and large controlled the second frame, outshooting the Islanders 12-9 while killing off a New York power play as well.
STALEMATE
The game was up for the taking in the third period, but neither side could find the back of the net. The Bruins came mighty close on a handful of occasions, but a few sprawling saves by Islanders netminder Robin Lehner kept the game deadlocked at 1-1. Boston also outshot New York for a third straight period, this time by a 9-7 margin.
The Islanders appeared to put an end to things early in overtime when they jammed the puck past Rask, but the officials quickly nullified the goal following a mess in the crease. The call was then confirmed via official review.
The two teams went up and down the ice for the remainder of the sudden death period, but neither could bury the game-winner.
DONATO DELIVERS THE WIN
It took four rounds to complete, but Donato ultimately sent the Bruins home winners with a silky shootout goal.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will welcome the Detroit Red Wings to the Garden for an Original Six matchup Saturday night. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET.
This Bruins Wrap is presented by Plainridge Park Casino.
