The Boston Bruins officially will face the Islanders in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs after New York eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins on Wednesday night.
The third-seeded Bruins will have home-ice advantage against the fourth-seeded Islanders when the series begins.
New York defeated the top-seeded Penguins 5-3 during Game 6 and thus won the best-of-seven series by a 4-2 verdict. The Bruins advanced past the second-seeded Washington Capitals on Sunday with a 4-1 series verdict.
So, with the playoff matchup determined, let’s quickly rehash the Bruins-Islanders regular-season series.
Most notably, the Bruins were 3-3-2 against the Islanders in eight games this season.
Boston suffered one loss by shootout and another in overtime. The B’s were outscored 18-8 in their five combine losses, but that was skewed by a 7-2 defeat in New York in late February.
The Bruins did, however, win each of the last three games during the regular-season series. Boston outscored the Islanders 10-3 in those wins, the last of which came in overtime.
The B’s averaged 2.25 goals per game and allowed an average of 2.63 goals per contest.
For a more extensive refresher, check out our Bruins Wraps from those games:
— 1-0 loss on Jan. 18
— 4-2 loss on Feb. 13
— 7-2 loss on Feb. 25
— 2-1 shootout loss on March 9
— 4-3 looks on March 25
— 4-1 win on April 15
— 3-0 win on April 16
— 3-2 overtime win on May 10
The schedule of the second-round series is to be determined.
