BOSTON — The Boston Bruins began a difficult weekend back-to-back with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Loui Eriksson’s third-period goal was the difference for Boston. The Bruins will be back at TD Garden on Sunday night for their final regular-season meeting with the rival Montreal Canadiens.
Here are three quick takeaways from Bruins-Islanders.
1. Special Teams Headline First Period
The Islanders opened the scoring with a power-play goal from John Tavares at 9:06 of the first period. Tavares pounced on a loose puck and Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask wasn’t able to move from left-to-right in time to make the save. This goal ended a streak of 16 straight successful penalty kills over a five-game span for Boston.
B’s forward Patrice Bergeron tied the score a little more than four minutes later with a power-play goal of his own. It was his 14th tally of the season, putting him one behind linemate Brad Marchand for the team lead in goals scored. Boston was 2-for-18 on the power play in the eight games before Saturday’s matchup.
2. Torey Krug Quickly Returns After Massive Hit
Krug took a monster hit from Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck along the boards with about 13 minutes remaining in the second period. The Bruins defenseman laid on the ice for a bit and the referees were forced to stop play. He was able to get up under his own power but needed to be helped down the tunnel after exiting the ice.
Krug missed just one shift, though, and played a total of 5:32 in the second period. He also fought Isles forward Ryan Strome early in the first period.
3. Both Goaltenders Give Excellent Performance
In a matchup of former teammates, Tuukka Rask and Chad Johnson both gave their teams a great chance to earn two points.
Rask made 39 saves on 40 shots for a .975 save percentage. He’s now 23-12-7 on the season and 8-2-3 since Jan. 1. Johnson made 34 saves on 36 shots for a .944 save percentage. He’s 1-1-0 against the Bruins this season and 6-7-0 overall.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images.
GIF via Twitter/@PeteBlackburn
