After getting the monkey off their back in Thursday night's win over the Islanders, the Bruins were looking to win their third game in a row for the first time since early February and seeking to gain ground on the top three teams in the division while keeping distance between themselves and the Rangers for the fourth and final playoff spot.
The Bruins were able to do all of the above in an impressive sweep of the Islanders. Boston now sits six points or fewer behind the Capitals, Islanders and Penguins, and six points ahead of the Rangers with games in hand on all of them.
David Pastrnak scored his first goal in eight games, Taylor Hall and Curtis Lazar each scored a goal, Mike Reilly recorded his second point as a Bruin, and Jeremy Swayman earned his first-career shutout as the Bruins defeated the Islanders for the second time in as many nights.
Here are three key takeaways from the Bruins' 3-0 win.
1. Escaping the first period with a lead
After playing their best first period of the season last time out against the Islanders, the Bruins were unable to match that same intensity to begin Friday night's game. Instead, it was the Isles that started on time and dictated much of the play to begin the game.
The Islanders both out-shot (10-8) and out-hit (15-9) Boston, while also blocking more shots and having fewer giveaways.
While difficult for the Bruins to match their start from the other night, there has to be some sort of middle ground — Bruce Cassidy often mentions having their "B" game when their "A" game isn't happening.
Fortunately, the Bruins got their skating game going midway through the period and were able to skate away with a 1-0 lead at the intermission.
That lead came in the closing seconds when Mike Reilly once again displayed his offensive ability pinching down the left wing boards and collecting a puck beneath the goal line before zipping a pass to David Pastrnak in front of the net. Pastrnak found open ice in the slot and elevated his shot under the crossbar to break out of his five-on-five goal-scoring slump.
Reilly continues to impress and is looking like the steal of the trade deadline, being dealt for a mere third-round pick in 2022. The 27-year old defenseman now has two assists in three games with the Bruins and 21 assists on the season.
2. Krejci and Hall building chemistry
David Krejci, Taylor Hall and Craig Smith have only had three games and a few morning skates to build chemistry together but one can already notice that they're quickly gaining confidence as a trio.
Smith has been on a month-long scoring tear, Krejci seems re-energized with the addition of a legitimate top-six left wing on his line, and Hall is getting more and more comfortable making plays in a new system.
Early on in the second period, Hall recorded an insurance goal for the second time in as many games against the Isles when he and Krejci connected on a beautiful give-and-go play to increase Boston's lead to 2-0.
Hall collected a neutral zone pass from Steven Kampfer — who did a nice job skating the puck out of his own end — and used his speed to back off defenders and gain the offensive zone before moving the puck to Krejci on the right wing side. Krejci returned a hard accurate pass to Hall driving hard to the net and No. 71 tipped it home for his second as a Bruin.
In just three games with the Bruins, Hall has already matched his goal total through his first 37 games with Buffalo, answering the doubters on whether a fresh start with a playoff-caliber team would be beneficial or not.
Between Hall in the top-six and Lazar in the bottom-six, Boston is a much deeper team offensively than they were last week.
3. Swayman earns his first-career shutout
Jeremy Swayman continues to earn the confidence of his coaches and teammates and stepped up as the last line of defense all night long, earning his first career shutout in Friday's win.
Swayman finished the night with 25 saves, including many point-blank scoring chances early on in the game. Swayman was also the Bruins' best penalty killer as the Islanders went 0-for-5 on the man advantage.
Through his first five starts in the NHL, Swayman has a 4-1 record with a 1.78 goals against average and a .938 save percentage. Yes, it's a small sample size, but he's excelling in very important games for a team that's in the middle of a playoff chase.
While the long-term future of Tuukka Rask in Boston is uncertain, one thing that is certain is that Swayman seems more than capable of being the goalie of the future between the pipes for the Bruins.
