With the Garden faithful packed to the rafters for the first time in over a year, the Bruins and Islanders faced off in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series — the first postseason meeting between the two teams since 1983.
In a game where the Bruins outshot the Islanders by almost a 2-1 margin (40-22), the Islanders showed why they’re a frustrating team to play against and a difficult club to beat. They bend but don’t break, finish all checks and take advantage of their opponents' mistakes.
Unfortunately for the Islanders, this night was all about the young stars of the Bruins as David Pastrnak and Charlie McAvoy led the way and lit up the score sheet en route to a 5-2 win and 1-0 series lead.
Here are three key takeaways from the game.
1. Pastrnak continues to roll with series-opening hat trick
After struggling to find the back of the net early in Round 1, David Pastrnak is now officially on fire after recording a hat trick in Game 1 against the Islanders for five goals in his last three games. Each of his three goals on Saturday showcased different variations of his world-class release and scoring touch.
Trailing by a goal late in the first period, it didn’t take Pastrnak long to strike on the Bruins' first power-play opportunity of the series. Following a point shot from David Krejci, Pastrnak collected the rebound and displayed incredible patience before rifling a snap-shot top corner to even the score at one.
Later on in the second period, Pastrnak once again capitalized on a rebound opportunity to give Boston their first lead of the game. This time it was Patrice Bergeron getting a shot on goal, but rather than being patient like he was on his first goal, Pastrnak zipped home a one-timer under the crossbar. Pastrnak’s ability to score in a variety of fashions is what makes him an elite scorer and keeps goalies guessing.
Then as time ticked to under five minutes remaining in regulation, Pastrnak gave the Bruins much needed breathing room when a spectacular individual effort made it 4-2 Bruins. Pastrnak picked off a pass in the neutral zone and cut left to right across the slot in the offensive zone and shot across the grain for a dazzling third goal of the game.
2. McAvoy scores the game-winner
While the Islanders were being mostly out-played five-on-five, it appeared they may potentially steal a win when they were gifted a third period power play for yet another too many men on the ice infraction against the Bruins. Fortunately, the B’s were able to kill off the Islanders power play and then take a 3-2 lead shortly thereafter.
After some strong board play beneath the Islanders goal line from Nick Ritchie, Krejci ended up on the right wing boards in the offensive zone with possession and set up Charlie McAvoy for a one-time attempt from the center of the blue line — McAvoy took full advantage of this opportunity and fired a slap-shot passed Ilya Sorokin, thanks to a great screen from Ritchie.
McAvoy, who does it all for the Bruins on the back end, just continues to be a true game-breaking, elite defensemen and helped propel his team to a huge 1-0 series lead.
McAvoy now has a goal and five assists for six points in six playoff games this spring.
3. Islanders' style of play as advertised
It’s no secret that the Islanders aren’t one of the more exciting teams to watch, yet there’s no denying that their “bend but don’t break” formula can be highly efficient.
The Islanders typically get outshot by their opponents, yet have been one of the better defensive teams in the league since the hiring of head coach Barry Trotz three seasons ago. They collapse around their goal and wait for opponents to make mistakes.
Saturday was a solid indication of that as they were largely out chanced and out shot at even-strength by the Bruins yet kept it a nail-biting, one-goal game until the final five minutes of regulation.
The other part of the Islanders game that was on full display was their physicality. While he eventually made his way back into the game, Matt Grzelcyk’s status was in question after taking a hard hit behind the net from Leo Komarov in the second period.
Later in the second period, the Bruins lost a forward when Craig Smith left the game with a lower-body injury following a collision with Cal Clutterbuck. As Pierre McGuire noted on the NBC broadcast, it’s going to be an “ice-pack” series and Game 1 proved to be just that — while the Bruins skated away with a 5-2 victory, it didn’t come without its bumps and bruises. Hopefully for the Bruins, Smith isn’t out for too long. Coach Bruce Cassidy had no update after the game and said they'll know more in the morning.