NHL Preview: Boston Bruins (34-5-4) at New York Islanders (23-18-4)

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BOSTON BRUINS NOTES:

TONIGHT’S GAME

  • The Bruins visit the Islanders tonight in the 2nd of 3 games between these teams this season and Boston’s lone visit to USB Arena.
  • They are the NHL’s only 30-win team this season at 34-5-4 overall and are 13-4-1 on the road … They are 19-3-2 vs. Eastern Conference opponents.
  • The Bruins play their 7th of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season on 1/18 at NY Islanders and 1/19 at NY Rangers … They are currently 5-0-1 in the 1st game of those sets and are 5-1-0 in the 2nd games so far.
  • The Bruins play a 2-game trip to NY Islanders on 1/18 and NY Rangers on 1/19 …They will then return to Boston to host San Jose on 1/22.

RECENT GAMES:

  • The Bruins have won their last 2 games with a 4-3 win vs Toronto and 6-0 win vs Philadelphia … They are 13-1-3 in their last 17 games and are 17-2-4 in their last 23 contests.
  • They are 6-0-1 in their last 7 road games.
  • The Bruins are 21-1-3 in their last 25 home games, including a 22-game home unbeaten at 19-0-3 and a 14-game home win streak, the longest from the start of a season in league history and longest point streak from a season’s start in Boston annals … It was also their fourth longest home point streak overall in team history.
  • Boston 0 vs Seattle 3 … The Bruins suffered both their 1st home regulation loss and 1st shutout against of the season with a 3-0 setback … Linus Ullmark snapped his 14-0-1 point streak … SOG: Bos 27, Sea 31 … PP: 0/1 … PK: 0/3
  • Boston 4 vs Toronto 3 … The Bruins got goals from Patrice Bergeron, David Pastrnak, A.J. Greer and Matt Grzelcyk (GWG at 18:44 of 3rd period) … Linus Ullmark earned the win in goal … SOG: Bos 34, Tor 21 … PP: 0/2 … PK: 1/2
  • Boston 6 vs Philadelphia 0 … David Krejci had 3A while playing his 1,000th NHL game with linemates Pavel Zacha and David Pastrnak having 2-1=3 totals each, Brad Marchand and Matt Grzelcyk had 1-1=2 totals each and Charlie McAvoy added 2A … Jeremy Swayman had his 1st shutout of the season and the 6th of his career … SOG: Bos 29, Phi 29 … PP: 1/2 … PK: 0/6

INJURIES (Total man-games lost in 2022-23: 45)

  • Jake DeBrusk: Hand and lower body injuries, IR

BOSTON vs NY ISLANDERS, LIFETIME SERIES

  • The Bruins and Islanders are meeting for the 185th time in their histories with the Bruins having a 97-59-21-7 record and 615-521 scoring edge in those games.
  • They are 45-35-10-3 lifetime at New York with a 297-280 scoring advantage in those 93 contests.

FUN FACTS

  • The Bruins currently have 23 players on their roster … 11 were drafted by the team, 4 were acquired in trade and 8 were signed as free agents.
  • The Bruins play 16 matinees this season (local start time 4:00 pm or earlier) … They have a 5-0-1 record in afternoon games so far.
  • The Bruins play 14 sets of back-to-back games this season … They are currently 5-0-1 in the 1st game of those sets and are 5-1-0 in the 2nd games so far.

NEW YORK ISLANDERS NOTES:

LAST GAME
DATE NYI RESULT SCORE NYI SCORERS IN GOAL
Monday, Jan. 16 OT Loss WSH 4 at NYI 3 Aho, Martin, Fasching Sorokin (31/35
Sebastian Aho found the back of the net with his fourth goal of the season and Matt Martin and Hudson Fasching each scored, but the New York Islanders fell to the Washington Capitals in overtime, 4-3, Monday night at UBS Arena. Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Cal Clutterbuck, and Anthony Beauvillier each recorded points for the second straight game, while Ilya Sorokin made 31 saves on 35 shots to help the Islanders collect a point against their Metropolitan Division opponent.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Jan. 11 Aatu Raty and Robin Salo have been loaned to Bridgeport (AHL).
Jan. 10 Simon Holmstrom has been activated off the team’s IR list.
Jan. 6 Mat Barzal is day-to-day with a lower body injury.
Jan. 5 Cal Clutterbuck has been activated off the team’s IR list.
Jan. 2 Cory Schneider has been returned on loan to Bridgeport. Semyon Varlamov has been activated off the team’s IR list

INJURIES GAMES MISSED

3 Adam Pelech Dec. 9 –

10 Simon Holmstrom Dec. 23 – Jan. 6

12 Josh Bailey Nov. 29

13 Mathew Barzal Jan. 6

15 Cal Clutterbuck Oct. 13, Nov. 8, Dec. 2- Dec. 6, Dec. 17 – Jan. 3

18 Anthony Beauvillier Dec. 10 – Dec. 13

21 Kyle Palmieri Nov. 23 – Dec. 13, Dec. 17 –

25 Sebastian Aho Oct. 13 – Oct. 20

26 Oliver Wahlstrom Oct. 13, Dec. 29 –

40 Semyon Varlamov Dec. 19 – Jan. 1

Man Games Lost: 85

RECENT RESULTS
Monday, Jan. 16 vs. Washington L/OT (4-3)
Saturday, Jan. 14 vs. Montreal W (2-1)
Thursday, Jan. 12 vs. Minnesota L (3-1)
Tuesday, Jan. 10 vs. Dallas L/SO (2-1)
Friday, Jan. 6 at Calgary L (4-1)

SEASON SERIES
DATE LOCATION RESULT/TIME
Dec. 13, 2022 TD Garden (Boston, MA) L/SO 4-3
Jan. 18, 2023 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:30pm
Feb. 18, 2023 TD Garden (Boston, MA) 5:00pm

UPCOMING GAMES
Jan. 19 at Buffalo KeyBank Center (Buffalo, NY) 7:30pm
Jan. 21 vs. Carolina UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:30pm
Jan. 23 at Toronto Scotiabank Arena (Toronto, ON) 7:00pm
Jan. 25 at Ottawa Canadian Tire Centre (Ottawa, ON) 7:00pm
Jan. 27 vs. Detroit UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) 7:00pm

LAST FIVE MEETINGS VS. BOSTON:
Dec. 13, 2022 TD Garden (Boston, MA) SO Loss (4-3)
Mar. 26, 2022 TD Garden (Boston, MA) Loss (6-3)
Feb. 17, 2022 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) Win (4-1)
Dec. 16, 2021 UBS Arena (Belmont Park, NY) Win (3-1)
May 10, 2021 TD Garden (Boston, MA) OT Loss (3-2)

vs. THE BRUINS:
2022-23 0-0-1
Last five games: 2-1-2
Franchise History 66-90-21-7
NYI Home 38-44-10-1
NYI Away 28-46-11-6

ACTIVE NYI LEADERS
2022-23 N. Dobson (1g, 1a), J. Bailey (1g, 1a)
Points, Career Z. Parise (21), J. Bailey & J.G. Pageau (20)
Goals, Career J. G. Pageau (12), J. Bailey & Z. Parise (9)
Assists, Career Z. Parise (12), J. Bailey (11), M. Barzal (10)

TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight, the New York Islanders close out their season-long five-game home stand as they host the Boston Bruins in the second of three matchups between the two clubs this season. The last time these teams met was December 13 in Boston, when Josh Bailey, Noah Dobson and Brock Nelson each tallied multi-point games to help the Islanders collect a point in the shootout at TD Garden. Last season, the Islanders and Bruins met twice at UBS Arena. The Islanders collected two points each time they hosted the Bruins last season, with a 3-1 win and 4-1 win on December 16 and February 17, respectively.

AGAINST THE ATLANTIC
The Islanders have faced an Atlantic Division team just five times in the past two months, but have collected at least one point each time they have played one in that span, posting a 4-0-1 record against the Atlantic since November 14 in Ottawa. They have outscored their four opponents (Ottawa, Toronto, Boston, Florida) 17-10 in that span. They began the season 0-4-0 in the Atlantic Division. The Islanders have an 12-8-2 record against Eastern Conference opponents this season, and are 5-2-2 against Conference foes since the beginning of December. Their last four home victories have come against teams in the East.

HOME STAND
Tonight, the Islanders play the fifth and final contest of a season-long five-game home stand. They will play eight home games in the month of January, their busiest month this season. The Islanders have collected points in six of their last seven home games, with a 4-1-2 record at UBS Arena since December 23. The Islanders are 9-5-2 at home since the beginning of November. The Islanders are 15-for-15 on the penalty kill in their last six matchups at home, and they have not allowed a power play goal on home ice since December 2 against Nashville (20-for-20). They enter tonight’s matchup 90.9% on the penalty kill at home, leading the NHL.