PK Cronin
Bailey Fan Club Prez
- Feb 11, 2013
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NEW YORK ISLANDERS (14-7-7) VS BOSTON BRUINS (18-5-4)
7:30PM | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSGSN | MSG+ | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ESPN STREAM
The New York Islanders compete for their fifth straight win when the Boston Bruins come to UBS Arena on Friday.
The Islanders defeated the Anaheim Ducks 4-3 on Wednesday night. Simon Holmstrom scored the shorthanded game-winner with 1:33 left in regulation after goals from Kyle Palmieri, Casey Cizikas and Mat Barzal (PPG). The Ducks put up a fight with tallies from Troy Terry (PPG), Adam Henrique and Sam Carrick. Semyon Varlamov made 21 saves in his fourth straight win.
The Bruins fell 2-1 in overtime at Prudential Center on Wednesday night against the New Jersey Devils. Morgan Geekie opened the scoring for Boston, but Dawson Mercer knotted the game at 2:34 of the third period with Jack Hughes scoring in OT. Jeremy Swayman made 33 saves in the loss.
The Islanders are 0-4-1 against the Bruins in their last five meetings, dropping the first meeting of the season 5-2 on Nov. 9 at TD Garden. The Isles have a better track record against the B’s on home ice, carrying a 6-1-0 record at home in their last seven games.
ISLANDERS NOTES
- The Islanders have won four straight games and are riding a seven game point streak (6-0-1). The Isles also have points in their last seven games on home ice (5-0-2), which marks the longest point streak at UBS Arena. The Islanders have points in 13 of their last 14 games (9-1-4) overall.- Sebastian Aho drew into the lineup against the Ducks, playing for the first time since Nov. 24 after he was activated off IR on Wednesday afternoon. The 27-year-old defenseman skated 18:51, recorded two shots on goal and two blocked shots.
- Scott Mayfield is listed as day-to-day with an upper-body injury, the team announced on Wednesday morning. The veteran defenseman has four assists and 58 blocks through 20 games this season. In a corresponding move, the Islanders recalled right-handed defenseman Grant Hutton from the Bridgeport Islanders.
- With an assist on Wednesday night, Bo Horvat kept his point streak going, recording 12 points (5G, 7A) in his last eight games. The center is playing at nearly a point-per-game, with 26 points (10G, 16A) in 27 games this season.
- Mathew Barzal scored the game-tying goal to equalize the score at three goals apiece on Wednesday night. He extended his point streak to four games (3G, 4A) and has 14 points in his last seven outings. Barzal is eight points shy of his milestone career 400th.
- Simon Holmstrom netted his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal – and fifth shorthanded point – of the season on Wednesday. Half of Holmstrom’s eight goals this season have come shorthanded. JG Pageau is right behind him in the league rankings with four shorthanded points, all assists.
- Noah Dobson earned his 150th career NHL point by picking up two assists on Wednesday against the Ducks. His 24 assists of the season lead the Islanders and rank third in the NHL among defensemen. His 29 points this season are good for fourth in the NHL among defensemen.
- Mike Reilly will face his former team in the Bruins on Friday night. Reilly played 95 games with the Bruins, racking up four goals and 26 assists through parts of three seasons with team. He played with the Bruins against the Islanders in the second round of the 2021 playoffs, where he recorded two points (2A) in a six-game series that saw the Islanders advance.
BRUINS NOTES
- The Bruins are having a dominant season, standing first in the Eastern Conference with a record of 18-5-4 with 40 points. In their last 10 road games, the Bruins are 4-3-3. Friday’s tilt against the Islanders is the first game of a back-to-back set for the Bruins, wrapping a brief two-game road trip before hosting the Rangers at home on Saturday.- Charlie McAvoy and Pavel Zacha (both upper-body) were placed on IR on Thursday. McAvoy missed the last two games and has 17 points (3G, 14) in 21 games this season. The Long Beach native did not face the Islanders in the first meeting of the season series on Nov. 9 due to serving the last of a four-game suspension. Zacha missed Wednesday’s tilt, playing in every other game this season with 19 points (8G, 11A) through 26 games this season.
- The Bruins emergency recalled Patrick Brown and former Islander Parker Wotherspoon from Providence on Thursday. Wotherspoon spent eight seasons in the Islanders organization, playing 12 games with the Islanders and 293 games in Bridgeport.
- David Pastrnak leads the Bruins in points (39), goals (16) and assists (23) in his 10th season with the team. He has 13 multi-point games on the season.
- Matt Grzelcyk is expected to play in his 400th NHL game on Friday. The 29-year-old defenseman has one point (1G) through 17 games this season, missing a chunk of the year with an upper-body injury that landed the defenseman on LTIR. He made his return to the lineup on Nov. 25, recording 12 shots on goal, 11 hits, seven blocked shots in eight games since.
- Brad Marchand has 887 career NHL points (384G, 503A) one point shy of defenseman Bobby Orr for sixth in Bruins history. He was kept off the scoresheet against the Devils on Wednesday.
- The Bruins sport the league’s best penalty kill (90.1%).
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