The Bruins had a chance to take a commanding 3-1 series lead Saturday night at Nassau Coliseum but couldn't do so, losing 4-1 as the Islanders sent the series back to Boston tied 2-2.
Contrary to the Lightning-Hurricanes Game 4 hours before that was wide open and full of offense, the Bruins and Islanders played as physical and tight-checking as it gets. Neither team gave an inch and emotions boiled over early and often.
Ultimately, the Islanders implemented their style of play more over the course of the game and willed their way to victory with their backs just about against the wall.
Here are three key takeaways from the game.
1. Islanders continue to agitate Bruins' top players
The beauty of a playoff series is that the battling and chirping that goes on in the early games often doesn’t climax until later on in the series. That’s exactly what played out on Long Island in Game 4 as both teams brought the fight both literally and figuratively — and from some unlikely individuals.
After being the recipient of a Scott Mayfield hit deep in the offensive zone, Taylor Hall continued to exchange words with Mayfield and eventually dropped the gloves. On one hand, it’s great to see Hall show emotion and a willingness to drop the gloves, but on the other hand it’s a bad trade-off and not worth Hall getting injured over.
Mat Barzal was also creating havoc after cross-checking Curtis Lazar in the face before causing a scrum between Matt Martin and Jarred Tinordi. Barzal later goaded David Krejci into a minor slashing penalty after feeding Krejci cross-checks to the back.
Charlie McAvoy took a high-sticking penalty at the end of the second period following a non-call on Brock Nelson, who finished a hard hit on McAvoy when he clearly saw the defenseman’s numbers.
Ryan Pulock and Adam Pelech were also bearing down on the Patrice Bergeron line all night. The Islanders know they have to play a certain style to get Boston off its game and it worked for most of the night.
2. The power play giveth and taketh away
The Bruins were able to capitalize on a second-period power play when David Krejci gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead. To make matters worse for the Islanders, they failed to win a challenge for goalie interference on the goal, enabling the Bruins to go right back on the man-advantage with both momentum and the lead.
On the ensuing power play, neither unit mustered any scoring chances and instead gave new life to the Islanders, who were on the verge of going down 2-0 in the game.
Later in the frame, Kyle Palmieri finished off a centering pass in front of Tuukka Rask to even the game and swing the emotion of the game back in the Isles' favor. The crowd was rocking and the Islanders carried the play for the rest of the period.
The Bruins' inability to take advantage of a gift power play and extend the lead was problematic and has been a theme so far in this series. The Islanders don’t go away and don’t need the Bruins help to build momentum.
3. Islanders dominate third period
With the game tied at one heading into the third period, the opportunity was there for the Bruins to take command of the series. Instead, it was the Islanders who out-hustled and outscored the Bruins in the third period with three goals and four unanswered overall to even the series 2-2.
It started when Barzal swept home a loose puck in the slot to give the Islanders the lead that they wouldn’t relinquish. Barzal has now scored a third-period goal in each of the last two games and has really been effective since Game 2. While David Pastrnak missed a wide open net in the first period that could have altered the tenor of the game, the Bruins ended up with a 1-0 lead anyway and got out-played from then on after.
No one said it was going to be easy for the Bruins, and they absolutely saw the best of the Islanders in Game 4 — now it’s Boston’s turn to play their best hockey back home in Game 5, where they’ll look to snag a 3-2 series lead and a chance to eliminate the Islanders on the road in Game 6. Until then, this series is far from over and there’s a lot of work to be done for the black and gold.