Islanders-Bruins Game 2 recap: Winning goal, key stat and more
Casey Cizikas #53 and the New York Islanders celebrate his goal at 5:12 of the first overtime to defeat the Boston Bruins 4-3 in Game Two of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs at the TD Garden on May 31, 2021 in Boston, Massachusetts. Credit: Getty Images/Bruce Bennett
Final score: Islanders 4, Bruins 3, in OT.
Winning goal: Casey Cizikas on a breakaway, at 14:48 of OT.
Key statistic
Semyon Varlamov went 19-11-4 with a 2.04 goals-against average, a .929 save percentage and seven shutouts in the regular season but was 0-2 with a 3.62 GAA and .903 save percentage in the playoffs entering Game 2.
Turning point
The Islanders were dominating overtime, but Varlamov had to make a save on David Krejci and then another on Taylor Hall on the rebound, to keep the game going at 13:06 of OT.
Did you notice?
A day after a Celtics’ fan was arrested for allegedly throwing a water bottle at Kyrie Irving at TD Garden, Bruins fans directed an offensive chant against the Nets’ star throughout Game 2.
Injury report
Bruins RW Craig Smith (lower body) did not play after getting hurt in Game 1… Islanders rookie RW Oliver Wahlstrom (lower body) remained out for the third straight game … Bruins D Kevan Miller (undisclosed) and D Jakub Zboril (upper body) were unavailable.
Other news
The Vezina Trophy finalists will be announced Tuesday and Varlamov is a candidate …Things are feeling normal again with nearly full arenas again – 17,400 at TD Garden for Games 1 and 2. "On the bench, I’ve got a mask on and I’m screaming at the players so they can actually hear me," Trotz said.
Three stars
1. Casey Cizikas (Islanders) made no mistake on the breakaway to win the game.
2. Semyon Varlamov (Islanders) stopped 39 of 42 shots to earn his first playoff win.
3. Brad Marchand (Bruins) goal and an assist. His goal forced OT.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
