Bruins Notes: Offense Takes Noticeable Step Forward Vs. Islanders

BOSTON — The Boston Bruins defeated the New York Islanders in a 5-2 victory on Thursday night with a season-high in goals.

Boston’s offense had looked good prior to win No. 11, though it found a new level against the Islanders. Additionally, Boston had struggled on the power play throughout the early part of the season and responded with two goals during the man-advantage. Even after losing the lead twice, Boston always had an answer to earn the win.

“We came wave after wave,” Bruins head coach Jim Montgomery told reporters after the win. “That was one of the best, if not the best, offensive games we’ve had this year as a team.”

Boston had been working up to a breakout performance as a scoring team. Montgomery believes that the latest stretch had laid out the groundwork for the offense to take off.

“I thought we played fast in Detroit and better offensively,” Montgomery added. “I thought we did a good job in Dallas against a really good hockey team. Tonight, we’re playing faster. It’s coming.”

Led by a hat-trick from Charlie Coyle, the Bruins found ways to respond to each answer from the Islanders. In a sign of progress, Boston regained the lead and added insurance to close out the victory.

“That was huge,” Coyle said after the game. “You want to build on your lead always. They come back and get that short-handed goal. That can dampen a lot of teams. We come right back and get one. That’s just the sign of a good team. That’s been a staple for us for a while where something bad happens and it’s up to the next line going out to reverse it and get it back our way. I thought we did that with another goal.”

Thursday’s win gave the Bruins a chance to show their potential against adversity and respond in a back-and-forth affair to ultimately come out on top.

“The season is young,” David Pastrnak told reporters. “You’re going to go through lots of games. You’re going to be up. You’re going to be chasing the game. We just have to believe in the process and play our game. I know we have a good group in here. Believe in ourselves and believe in the process.

Here are more notes from Thursday’s Islanders-Bruins game:

— New York’s first-period power-play goal from Brock Nelson is just the fourth goal allowed by Boston on the penalty kill this season. Entering the game, the Bruins had the best penalty-kill percentage in the NHL at 94%.

— Trent Frederic’s first-period goal marked the fourth goal in his last three games against the Islanders, dating back to last season.

— Coyle’s second-period score on the power play marked the 150th goal of his NHL career. The goal came after his 250th career assist in the first period. The 31-year-old posted his first multi-goal outing since Nov. 14, 2021.

— With an assist on the Frederic goal, James van Riemsdyk recorded his 600th career NHL point.

— The Bruins scored twice on the power play after converting on just 17.5% of their chances with the man-advantage entering Thursday night.

— The Bruins head north of the border for a rivalry matchup on Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens. Puck drop at Bell Centre is set for 7 p.m. ET. You can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.