Preview: Bruins open five-game homestand against Islanders

Just the facts

When: Tonight, 7:00 PM

Where: TD Garden – Boston, MA

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

Rival SBN site: Lighthouse Hockey

Know your enemy

• 17-12-0, 34PTS, 4th in Metropolitan Division
• Mathew Barzal: 29GP, 3G, 27A, 30PTS; Brock Nelson: 29GP, 14G, 14A, 28PTS; Anders Lee: 29GP, 9G, 12A, 21PTS
• Ilya Sorokin: 10-9-0, 2.36 GAA, .925 save percentage; Semyon Varlamov: 7-3-0, 2.67 GAA, .916 save percentage

Game notes

• The Boston Bruins are back from their road trip to open a five-game homestand against the New York Islanders tonight!
• The Bruins had a good outing on the road, going 2-1-0 against the Western Conference teams — and concluded three season series at the same time. In those games, they outscored their opponents 10-5, helped by a 4-0 blanking over the Colorado Avalanche.
• While the Bruins open a five-game homestand tonight, the Islanders begin a five-game road trip. They’ve had an okay stretch, going 2-3-0 in their last five games — getting shut out most recently on Saturday Dec. 10 at home against the Carolina Hurricanes.
• The third period has been strong for the Bruins. They broke a 1-1 tie against the Vegas Golden Knights on Sunday to score two third-period goals and win the game. The Bruins have scored two goals in the final frame in four of their last five games to outscore their opponents 9-4.
• For the Bruins, Jake DeBrusk and Charlie Coyle are on three-game point streaks. DeBrusk has one goal and two assists while Coyle has picked up two goal and two assists in that time frame.
• David Pastrnak is on a five-game point streak with five goals and one assist. He has registered at least a point in 14 of the last 15 games.
• The Bruins’ third line has been a difference maker and offensive force over the last handful of games. Taylor Hall, Coyle and Trent Frederic are finding their chemistry nicely and contributing big. In five games, they’ve combined for eight goals and seven assists.
• For the Islanders, Nelson has three goals and two assists in his last five games. He has five goals and three assists in eight games since Nov. 25.
• Per the Islanders’ release, Kyle Palmieri and Anthony Beauvillier both practiced yesterday. Beauvillier was injured during Friday’s game and out for Saturday’s game, but will see how he feels for tonight. Palmieri has not played since Nov. 21.

See ya tonight!