Bruins skate past Islanders 6-3

The Bruins spotted themselves an early 3-0 lead just 9:04 into the game en route to a 6-3 win over of the New York Islanders in Uniondale, NY on Thursday night.

Blake Wheeler opened the scoring for the Bruins when he buried a tough angle shot from along the goal line on the left wing with 1:52 expired on the game clock.

Mark Recchi doubled the Boston lead at 7:03 of the opening period when he deflected a shot/pass from Patrice Bergeron past Islanders goalie Nathan Lawson. Fittingly, Mark Recchi's 474th NHL goal allowed him to pass former Islander Mike Bossy to claim sole-possession of 19th place on the NHL's all-time goal scoring list.

Gregory Campbell made it 3-0 9:04 into the game when he kept a loose puck in the attacking zone and sent a weak shot from out near the blue line towards the net. Daniel Paille was stationed in front of Lawson at the top of crease to provide a screen.

David Krejci increased the Bruins' lead to 4-0 55 seconds into the second period. Nathan Horton, Milan Lucic, and David Krejci broke in 3-on-2. Krjeci took a shot from between the circles and followed his own shot to the net. The rebound came out into the slot and deflected off of Horton before Krejci put a backhander into the empty net, while a sprawling Nathan Lawson tried to get back in position to make a stop.

John Tavares got the Islanders on the board at 1:50 of the second period. Tavares broke in the offensive zone along the right wing boards and was able to get past Zdeno Chara before roofing a shot over Tuukka Rask. The goal was Tavares' 22nd tally of the '10-'11 campaign.

Tyler Seguin answered right back with his 10th goal of the season at 2:48 of the second period. Mark Recchi sent a centering pass to Seguin at the right post. Islanders's goalie Nathan Lawson was caught out of position, allowing Seguin to deposit a backhand one-timer into an empty cage. Seguin's goal drove Lawson from the New York net after giving up 5 goals on 18 shots. Former Michigan standout Al Montoya took over in goal for Jack Capuano's club.

Josh Bailey gave the Isles their second goal of the game to make it 5-2 5:36 into the middle period when he hammered a shot past Rask after a carom from a blocked shot found its way to Bailey in the slot.

Milan Lucic put the B's back up by 4 goals 1:41 after Bailey's goal on a power play goal. Lucic's put-back from the doorstep gave #17 his 24th goal of the season.

John Tavares's second goal of the night pulled New York to within 3 with 7:03 left in the game. Adam McQuaid lost an edge in the neutral zone, allowing Tavares extra time and space to break into the attacking zone. Tavares shot from the left circle tipped off the glove of Tuukka Rask and in to account for the 6-3 final score.

Notes:

- Tyler Seguin's 10th goal of the season marks the first time since the 1992-'93 season that 2 or more Bruins rookies have netted 10 or more goals. That season, Joe Juneau (32 goals), Steve Heinze (18), and Ted Donato (15) accomplished the feat.

- The Islanders out-shot the Bruins 37-34.

- Newly-acquired center and Canadian citizen Chris Kelly was not able to play tonight due to visa issues. NESN play-by-play man Jack Edwards tried to plead Kelly's case, but to no avail:

- The Bruins dominated at the dot, winning 68% of the draws (36 of 53).

- Mark Stuart was a healthy scratch tonight and was not seen after the game. Stuart's name has been circulating in trade rumors as the trade deadline looms.

- The Bruins kept it simple tonight against some shaky Islanders goaltending. They threw the puck on goal and crashed the net and it paid off.

- Tuukka Rask didn't look particularly sharp at times tonight, but he was able to make some big stops when needed to help preserve the Bruins' big early lead.

- The Bruins are in Ottawa tomorrow night to face-off against the Ottawa Senators. Chris Kelly is expect to join his new team to make his Bruins debut against his former team.

- For more on tonight's game, check out Lighthouse Hockey