Final, Bruins 6-3: The Bruins hold on for a much-needed win to snap a three-game losing streak and open a six-game road trip in fine fashion.
Just about everyone contributed to this one, with six different goal scorers, 12 players with points and Tuukka Rask making 34 saves for just his sixth win of the season.
The Bruins will look to build off this effort Friday night in Ottawa, where they will meet up with new teammate Chris Kelly as they take on his former team.
Third Period, 19:10, Bruins 6-3: Another sloppy play defensively, as Michael Haley intercepts a clear for a bid in front, but Rask turns it aside.
Third Period, 15:50, Bruins 6-3: Good shift by the Krejci line to halt any potential momentum for the Islanders.
Third Period, 12:57, Bruins 6-3: The Islanders do cut into the lead as John Tavares scores his second of the game by tapping in a juicy rebound left at the top of the crease by Rask. the Bruins are still in good shape, but this one isn't over just yet.
Third Period, 12:13, Bruins 6-2: The Bruins have gotten what they've needed out of the early going here in the third, as they've kept the isles from cutting into the deficit more than halfway through the period.
Third Period, 7:40, Bruins 6-2: No doubt about getting credit for that hit, as Chara belts Kyle Okposo.
Third Period, 4:17, Bruins 6-2: Tavares collected a tip by Moulson in front at the left post behind Rask, but somehow couldn't direct it into the open net.
Third Period, 1:10, Bruins 6-2: Lucic nearly gets another goal in front, but Montoya is able to send it over the net with his blocker.
Third Period, 0:00, Bruins 6-2: And the final frame is under way, with the Bruins looking to close out this win and get their six-game win streak off on a strong note.
Second Intermission Notes: The Bruins had six goals combined in their last three games, losing all three. They have six goals through two periods in this one, and look poised to put an end to that losing streak.
Six different Bruins have scored, while 12 Boston players have points. Milan Lucic, Tyler Seguin, Blake Wheeler and David Krejci each have a goal and an assist.
Tuukka Rask had to come up big in the second though, as the Islanders had a 22-12 edge in shots in that frame. Michael Ryder is somehow a minus-1, while every other Bruin is a plus or even, including Shawn Thornton, Andrew Ference and Dennis Seidenberg each at plus-2.
The Bruins finally got credit for a hit. They actually had two in the second, by Lucic and Ference, but are being outhit 12-2 so far. Boston is dominating the faceoff circle though, winning 69 percent of draws (24-11). Seguin (5-2), Patrice Bergeron (9-4) and Krejci (8-3) are leading the way there.
End Second Period, Bruins 6-2: Forty minutes are in the books, and it's gone exactly as the Bruins had hoped so far. Now they just need to close this one out as they take a four-goal lead into the third.
Second Period, 17:30, Bruins 6-2: The Bruins kill off the penalty, though it did get a bit hairy in the closing seconds with a mad scramble in the crease in front of Rask.
Second Period, 15:30, Bruins 6-2: Dennis Seidenberg goes leg on leg in a collision with Robbie Schremp at the blue line and is sent off for tripping. This will be the Islanders' first power-play chance of the game.
Second Period, 12:16, Bruins 6-2: Almost five minutes without a goal, what's going on? Blake Comeau did nearly score there, crashing the net and taking the net off its moorings.
Second Period, 7:17, Bruins 6-2: The Bruins add another as they finally convert a power-play chance.
Zdeno Chara tees up a blast from the point, and David Krejci makes a beautiful kick pass of the rebound over to Milan Lucic for the goal at the right post.
Second Period, 7:10, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins go on the power play with New York called for too many men.
Second Period, 5:36, Bruins 5-2: Starting to see shades of last week's wild game with the Habs, as the Islanders score again.
Josh Bailey one-times a shot from the slot after Boychuk blocked the initial attempt from the left wing.
Second Period, 3:33, Bruins 5-1: Isles tough guy Michael Haley gets a misconduct after trying to get Greg Campbell to fight. Campbell, by the way, has now been credited with Boston's third goal, which was originally given to Paille.
Second Period, 2:48, Bruins 5-1: The Bruins answer right back with Tyler Seguin scoring at the left post off a cross by Shawn Thornton.
That leads to a change in goal for New York, as Al Montoya now takes over.
Second Period, 1:50, Bruins 4-1: The Islanders finally respond as John Tavares gets the hosts on the board.
Second Period, 0:55, Bruins 4-0: Every line is now on the board as David Krejci follows his own shot and flips in the rebound with a backhand at the left post to make it 4-0.
Second Period, 0:00, Bruins 3-0: The middle frame is under way, with the Bruins looking to build off a strong opening 20 minutes.
First Intermission Notes: The Bruins are finally back to playing their game, for the most part.
Yes, it's only against the Islanders. But these Islanders happen to be one of the hottest teams in the league right now, having won four straight and five of the last six, with 32 goals in those six games. But Boston has a 15-4 edge in shots and goals from three different lines. Three different defense pairs were on the ice for those goals as well, so every Bruins except Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Nathan Horton is a plus-1 on the night.
Adam McQuaid played just one shift after his fight with Zenon Konopka, so we'll have to watch if there was an injury issue there. Excellent first period from Tyler Seguin, who assisted on the first goal, nearly set up another and has overall played with the energy and intensity often missing before he was made a healthy scratch last week.
In the read into this what you want department, the Bruins were not credited with a single hit in the first, while the Isles had nine. There's still some work to be done to clean up the defensive play, with Steven Kampfer committing a turnover behind the net to lead to one of New York's few scoring chances and a bad pinch by Johnny Boychuk nearly leading to another scoring bid.
End First Period, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins got the start they needed, dominating the Islanders in the first 20 minutes, with the 3-0 advantage on the scoreboard reflecting that.
First Period, 18:37, Bruins 3-0: Bad decision to pinch there by Boychuk with Dennis Seidenberg already in deep. the Isles had an odd-man break, but great defensive play by Milan Lucic to break it up, getting all puck to avoid the tripping call.
First Period, 16:30, Bruins 3-0: Another strong shift by the fourth line, with Paille, Campbell and Shawn Thornton all over the Islanders, who struggled just to clear the puck out of their zone.
First Period, 15:03, Bruins 3-0: The Islanders with a rare threat on Rask, who is able to make the stop on John Tavares in close at the left post.
First Period, 11:56, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins threaten again, this time with Michael Ryder getting the bid off a feed from Seguin.
Seguin is playing with much more energy in this one. Maybe the acquisition of Chris Kelly has lit a fire under the rookie, who knows he'll be in a battle for playing time from here on out.
First Period, 9:04, Bruins 3-0: The Bruins add another, with the fourth line getting in on the scoring act.
Daniel Paille appeared to get the tip in front for the goal. Greg Campbell gets the assist.
First Period, 7:38, Bruins 2-0: This was the start the Bruins needed after three straight losses. They're playing much more aggressively on offense, though there have been a few shaky moments on defense. Johnny Boychuk, back after being a healthy scratch for the first time this year on Tuesday, picked up the secondary assist on Recchi's goal.
First Period, 7:03, Bruins 2-0: The Bruins strike again, this time with Mark Recchi driving hard to the net to bang in a pass from Patrice Bergeron from the left wing.
It went in off Recchi's skate and was reviewed to see if it was deliberately kicked in, but the review upheld the goal.
First Period, 4:09, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins can't convert on the power play (where have we heard that before?) and Tuukka Rask has to make a big save on Matt Moulson after a Steven Kampfer turnover behind the net.
First Period, 2:01, Bruins 1-0: The gloves come off with Adam McQuaid and Zenon Konopka squaring off for a spirited scrap at center ice. Konopka gets an extra minor, so the Bruins will have a power play to try to build on their lead.
First Period, 1:52, Bruins 1-0: And I'm back just in time as the Bruins strike early with Blake Wheeler opening the scoring.
Tyler Seguin sets it up with a pass out of the left corner to Wheeler, who slips in a bad-angle backhander from the left side.
First Period, 0:00, 0-0: Thanks to Jill Seward for pinch-hitting this afternoon as I was feeling a bit under the weather, but for better or worse, you won't get rid of me that easily.
7:01 p.m.: The Bruins and Rask both have something to prove tonight. The B's need to show up for 60 minutes in front of the Finnish netminder, and Rask needs to stand up to the challenges presented by the Islanders' speedy forwards.
6:59 p.m.: Tuukka Rask is in net tonight, taking on Islanders' third stringer, Nathan Lawson. We're moments away from the puck drop, here's hoping the B's can get off to a hot start here.
6:55 p.m.: It's been confirmed — Mark Stuart is the healthy scratch on the night.
6:49 p.m.: Mike Milbury just confirmed what Andy Brickley and Bob Beers were discussing earlier — this is not a "gimme" game. The Islanders have been playing with new life lately, especially after the 9-3 rout of the Penguins last week.
6:40 p.m.: It's never easy to avoid all the trade rumors that swirl around this time of year, but B's forward Michael Ryder believes his team is mentally strong enough to block the distraction of the season and play a solid game on Long Island.
6:37 p.m.: As of right now, all seven Bruins' defensemen are on the ice for warm-ups, so it's still up in the air as to which blueliner will be a healthy scratch on the night.
6:35 p.m.: Reports are coming in that Chris Kelly will rejoin the team on Friday in Ottawa — against his former team.
Kelly was held up by immigration issues that delayed him starting with the Bruins tonight, but the Boston locker room is looking forward to Kelly joining the team on Friday.
6:30 p.m.: The Bruins will be looking to snap out of their funk against an Islanders team that has compiled a four-game win streak. It won't be easy, but as we all know, the Bruins have worked the best on the road this season.
5:20 p.m.: Just because the Islanders sit low in the standings does not mean they will have an easy outing on Long Island.
Earlier on Thursday, Andy Brickley and Bob Beers discussed the Islanders' recent success and why they are still a dangerous matchup despite their position in the league rankings.
4 p.m.: The Bruins will be without their newest forward on Thursday night, as Chris Kelly wasn't able to get his immigration papers cleared.
8 a.m.: The Bruins have lost three straight games in regulation for the first time all season. Sounds like the perfect time to a little confidence booster against the lowly Islanders, right?
Not so fast. The Isles might still be in last place in the Atlantic Division, but they've been anything but pushovers lately. New York has been surprisingly tough this month, and not just in the literal sense with last week's wild brawl-filled classic against the Penguins that more than doubled the penalty-minute tally of the Bruins' own fight-fest against Montreal two days earlier.
The Islanders have been winning more than fights, taking four straight games and five of their last six. They have scored 32 goals in those six games, which might not make this opening game of a six-game road trip the best chance for the Bruins to correct their defensive issues after all.
Boston has allowed 20 goals in their last four games, not a good omen when facing a streaking Islanders squad with nothing to lose.
"Those are always dangerous games," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "They're loose. They just go out there and play. We always tell our guys the same thing, to go out there and play and have some fun, just respect the game plan. But it's a lot easier for those guys because they have nothing to lose."
With nine players on injured reserve and two more serving suspensions stemming from the Penguins' game, New York's roster is littered with unfamiliar names called up from their AHL affiliate in Bridgeport. But even if the playoffs are out of reach for the Islanders, those players have plenty to play for.
"A lot of those guys are also battling for jobs," Julien said. "When you're a non-playoff team it's a bigger battle for them to keep their jobs, so I think that's one element. At the same time, when you play teams like that it's so important that you put your whole focus on what you have to do as a team, because I know if we play the way we can, we should be winning those hockey games. That's the biggest challenge right now. We need to play the way we know we can."
The puck drops at 7 p.m., so check back here throughout the day for updates on all the action.
