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Preview: Bruins look to take points from the Islanders for the first time this season

The Bruins will face the Islanders for the third time tonight on the road.

By Angelina.Berube
NHL: FEB 13 Bruins at Islanders Photo by Gregory Fisher/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7 PM

Where: Nassau Coliseum - Uniondale, NY

How to follow: NESN, SN360, SNE, SNO, SNP, 98.5 The Sports Hub

Rival SBN site: Lighthouse Hockey

Know your enemy

  • 9-6-3 for 21 points, tied for third in East
  • Mathew Barzal: 18GP, 6G, 9A, 15PTS; Anders Lee: 18GP, 8G, 3A, 11PTS; Jordan Eberle: 18GP, 7G, 4A, 11PTS; Jean-Gabriel Pageau: 18GP, 7G, 4A, 11PTS
  • Semyon Varlamov: 8-4-2, 2.06 GAA, .927 save percentage

Game notes

  • In the teams’ last meeting on February 13, the New York Islanders ended the Boston Bruins’ ten-game point streak with a 4-2 win. Pageau had a two-goal night for the Islanders. Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron, and David Pastrnak each had two points in the loss. The Islanders capitalized on the power play and also scored shorthanded in the third period to give them the win.
  • The B’s have had a hard time on Long Island. Out of the Bruins’ three regulation losses this season, two of them have come against the Islanders, as the Bruins are 0-2 at Nassau Coliseum. This will be the third standalone game on the road facing the Isles.
  • The Islanders are coming off a 3-2 win over the Buffalo Sabres on February 22. The Isles had a hard time outshooting the Sabres throughout the game. They had just three shots on net in the first period and were outshot for two of three periods. In spite of those shooting shortcomings, they managed to pull out a win; a late penalty in the third period gave the Islanders the advantage as Pageau put a backhander in.
  • Pageau will be one to watch tonight. Against the Bruins, Pageau has three goals. He has six goals in his last seven games, including (as mentioned above) the game-winning goal for the Islanders in their last game.
  • Pastrnak is on a roll, but that’s no surprise. He’s on a three-game point streak with four goals and two assists in that span. He’s registered at least a point in seven of his nine games played.
  • Twelve Bruins registered at least a point last game. Lately, there has been a good mix of points from the top line and secondary scoring. Out of 51 goals, 25 have come from Bergeron, Marchand and Pastrnak. With the remaining goals, four were netted by defensemen.
  • Charlie Coyle finally registered his first goal this season – and his first point in eight games – at Lake Tahoe. His game has been inconsistent to start the season and maybe it’s because lines have been shuffled and he hasn’t been able to find his game yet...who really knows. He has 10 games this season with one or zero shots on goal. On Sunday, he had three SOG and ended up scoring. Hopefully finding the back of the net last game will spark a fire in him and get him to generate more offense. We’ll see.
  • Jeremy Lauzon and Kevan Miller are both out tonight. Per the team, Jakub Zboril is getting closer to returning, and Matt Grzelcyk will be making the trip to Long Island. It remains to be seen whether or not he’ll play tonight, but him being there is a good sign that he’ll get in at some point on the trip.
  • David Krejci hasn’t practiced all week, so don’t expect to see him in this game.

See ya tonight!