With the series shifting back to Boston for the pivotal Game 5, both teams are striving to take the lead in the best of 7. Here is how both teams would line up.
The Bruins would get off to a fast start, feeding off the energy of the crowd to try and establish momentum. It would pay off for Boston, as they would grab the first goal of the game at the minute and a half mark. The goal coming from David Pastrnak, his sixth of the playoffs. A beautiful one timer that would beat Varlamov over the shoulder. The assists on the play would come from Charlie McAvoy and Brad Marchand.
The Bruins would be in control for most of the period, but would find themselves on the penalty kill at the end of the period. The Islanders would convert on the power play to tie up the game before the end of the period. The goal was scored by Matt Barzal, his third of the playoffs. A nice short side shot that would beat Tuukka Rask over the glove. The assists on the play came from Noah Dobson and Jordan Eberle.
The second period would find the Islanders on the power play early, and seeing them convert on the power play again. The goal would be scored by Kyle Palmieri, his sixth goal of the playoffs. The puck pinballed around Tuukka Rask, and would find Palmieri on the back door to slam home the puck in the empty net. The assists on the play would come from Josh Bailey and Nick Leddy.
The lead wouldn’t last very long as two and a half minutes later the Bruins would tie up the game. Brad Marchand would receive the puck heading up the middle, where he would curl and drag around the defender and make a push through move around Varlamov, and slot the puck in the empty net. The goal would be Marchand’s sixth goal of the playoffs, with the assists going to David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy.
7 minutes later, the Islanders would retake the lead for the second time in the period. This time the goal was scored by Josh Bailey, his fifth goal of the playoffs. Bailey would find himself in the slot, the puck would find his stick. Rask went down early and Bailey would roof the puck over his shoulder. The assists on the play would be credited to JG Pageau and Anthony Beauvillier.
At the end of the period, the Bruins would take a penalty, and send the Islanders back to the power play. They would convert once again, their third time in the game. The goal was scored by Jordan Eberle, his third goal of the playoffs. Eberle would get the puck at the faceoff dot, would hold on for an extra second, before depositing the puck over Rask’s glove. The assists on the play would come from Matt Barzal and Noah Dobson. The Islanders would take a 4-2 lead heading into the third period.
It would take 2 minutes into the third period, the Islanders would nab themselves another goal to give themselves a 3 goal lead. The puck played from the left point, was sent to the opposite faceoff dot, where the bump set would end up on the stick of Brock Nelson. Nelson would beat Swayman under his glove. The goal was Brock Nelson’s fourth goal of the playoffs, and the assists on the play would come from Anthony Beauvillier and Adam Pelech.
The Bruins would snag themselves a goal 2 minutes later to help chip away at the lead. The goal would come from David Pastrnak, his seventh of the playoffs. A shot from the circle on the power play would beat Varlamov over the shoulder. The assists on the play would come from Charlie McAvoy and Patrice Bergeron. Things would get more interesting, as the Bruins would score another goal with 5 minutes left in the period. The goal would just trickle in past Varlamov, and cut the Islander lead to 1. The goal was scored by David Krejci, his second goal of the playoffs, with the assists coming from Craig Smith and Mike Reilly.
That would be the closest the Bruins would get in their comeback attempt, as the Islanders defense would hold on to earn the victory. The final score being 5-4 Islanders, with Game 6 heading back to Long Island.
Three Stars:
Josh Bailey
David Pastrnak
Brad Marchand
Boxscore:
Next Game:
Wed. June 9th at 730p on NBCSN
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