Two powerplay goals and a furious third period secured a victorious return to the TD Garden for the Bruins in their second game of the pre-season. Rich Peverley's goal in the third capped a four point night (one goal, three assists) as the Bruins buried the Islanders 6-3 Friday night at the TD Garden.
Perverley spent a lot of time riding with Patrice Bergeron and Brad Marchand on the second line and definitely made an impression.
"Peverley gives us an element of a little more speed," head coach Claude Julien told the Boston Globe after the game. "There's some chemistry there.
Also making an impression was the Bruins powerplay. Still facing doubts on the man advantage since the power outage during the playoffs the B's scored twice in five opportunities.
The Islanders were the first to strike in the first period with two goals from Harvard product Dylan Reese. Tim Thomas, making his first start of the pre-season, let in one more goal in the second period before his workload dropped off considerably as the Bruins went on to out shoot the Isles 36-16.
The Bruins started their scoring spree at about eight minutes into the second while on the powerplay when David Krejci took a rebound in front of the net and slipped it passed Islanders goalie Rick DiPetro. Patrice Bergeron tied it at 2-2 when he took a picture perfect pass from Marchand behind the net and fired it from the low right circle.
Dennis Seidenberg, Marchand, Johnny Boychuck, and Peverley rounded out the scoring for the Bruins.
The Peverley, Bergeron, Marchand line absolutely torched the Islanders and may serve as a preview for the opening night second line as the three combined for three goals and eight points.
After the game the Bruins also cut 14 players from camp including top pick Dougie Hamilton. He along Jared Knight, Ryan Spooner, and Alexander Kokhlachev were assigned to their respective junior teams.
The Bruins are now 1-1 in the pre-season with their next game coming Sunday with rival Montreal in Halifax.