Game 3: Boston Bruins @ New York Islanders Lines, Preview

4 Jun 2021

Boston Hockey Now

Game 3 Boston Bruins New York Islanders Lines Preview

After erasing a late two-goal deficit only to lose 4-3 in overtime, the Boston Bruins will look to regain the series lead and home advantage over the New York Islanders with a win in Game 3 of the East Division Final (7:30 PM ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVAS). In ord

In order to do so, the Boston Bruins know they need to be better in their own end and go from there.

“We got better in the third period and made some good plays up there, so that’s something that’s going to be required in there if they’re going to pack it in to try and take away our slot looks,” Boston Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said earlier this week. That’s an adjustment we made in-game the other day and we’re going to have to work on it and be good again [in Game 3]. That’s what we’re looking at: Be clean coming out of our end, support the puck better and our ‘D’ are going to have to make better decisions with their first touch.

We got better in the third period and made some good plays up there, so that’s something that’s going to be required in there if they’re going to pack it in to try and take away our slot looks. That’s an adjustment we made in-game the other day and we’re going to have to work on it and be good again [in Game 3]. That’s what we’re looking at: Be clean coming out of our end, support the puck better and our ‘D’ are going to have to make better decisions with their first touch.”

Boston Bruins Notes

-Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask will be back between the pipes for the B’s. Cassidy confirmed on Wednesday again that Rask is dealing with nagging injuries like every other player at this time of year and is good to go. Rask is 5-2 with a 2.06 GAA and .930 save percentage.

-Craig Smith is expected to return to the lineup tonight for the Bruins. Defenseman Kevan Miller remains out of the lineup with a concussion and has been ruled out for both games on Long Island. Defenseman John Moore and forward Ondrej Kase have been ruled out for the season.

–The Bruins’ powerplay is now 8-for-23 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs after going 1-for-2 in Game 2 against the Islanders. The Boston Bruins are scoring at a 34.8% clip on the powerplay that has them third in the NHL playoff field behind only the Colorado Avalanche and the Tampa Bay Lightning.

-After allowing the Islanders to score on two of their three powerplays in Game 2, the Bruins penalty kill has now killed off 21 of 27 power-play attempts against in the playoffs for a 77.8 success rate.

New York Islanders Notes

-Semyon Varlamov replaced rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin for Game 3 and delivered a splendid performance. Varlamov is now 1-2 with a 3.12 GAA and a .912 save percentage.

-The Islanders’ powerplay is 6-for-21 with a 27.3% success rate in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

-The Islanders’ penalty kill has killed off 10 of 16 power-play attempts against in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, giving them a 62.5 percent success rate.

-For more info on the Islanders for this and every game in the series, go check out NYI Hockey Now!

Boston Bruins Lines

Forwards:

Brad Marchand – Patrice Bergeron – David Pastrnak

Taylor Hall – David Krejci – Craig Smith

Nick Ritchie – Charlie Coyle – Jake DeBrusk

Sean Kuraly – Curtis Lazar – Chris Wagner

Defense:

Matt Grzelcyk – Charlie McAvoy

Mike Reilly – Brandon Carlo

Jeremy Lauzon – Connor Clifton

Goalies: