Islanders rally from second-period hole, beat Bruins in Game 4 to even series
Mathew Barzal #13 of the Islanders celebrates his third period goal against the Boston Bruins in Game Four of the Second Round of the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs with his teammates at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, June 5, 2021. Credit: Jim McIsaac
This game, just like the entirety of this second-round series, was everything NHL playoff hockey is supposed to be. The Islanders and Bruins again engaged in an even battle at a tension-filled Nassau Coliseum.
It’s only fitting this series is now tied at two games apiece after the Islanders’ 4-1 win on Saturday night and there will be at least one more playoff game at the venerable barn, which again seated a deafening 12,000.
"The biggest game for us so far," said Mathew Barzal, who swatted in the winner at 13:03 of the third period from off the left post. "We go down 3-1 to these guys heading back to TD Garden, that’s a death sentence. So that was a huge game for us tonight. Everyone brought it. Everyone was involved somehow, whether it was scoring or hitting or playing good defense. Everyone was doing something positive."
The resilient Islanders rallied from a second-period deficit as the teams continue to alternate wins to start the series. Game 5 is Monday night at TD Garden and the teams will return to the Coliseum on Wednesday night.
"We knew how big a game it was," said Kyle Palmieri, who took Barzal’s feed from behind the crease to tie the game at 1 at 6:38 of the second period. "You don’t want to lose two at home and we were ready to go. From the drop of the puck, we were ready to go and we gave our fans something to cheer about. The atmosphere tonight was incredible."
A superb Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots, including four shorthanded tries by the Bruins in the first 29 seconds of the third period. But the Bruins only had four more shots the rest of the period and none in the final 6:18.
"It was unbelievable out there," said Casey Cizikas, who, along with Jean-Gabriel Pageau, clinched the game with empty-net goals at the end. "Every single guy came to play. Right from the puck drop we were banging, we were crashing, we were getting to the net. And then when we did have breakdowns, Varly came up with some huge saves."
The Islanders had also faced a 2-1 series deficit in the first round against the Penguins before rallying with three straight wins.
"Every game, every playoff series teaches you lessons," said coach Barry Trotz, who led the Islanders to the Eastern Conference finals last season. "You find value in being down. We were in this position the last series against Pittsburgh. We had a positive experience. We’ve learned some things from that."
"Confidence is something that comes from repetition," defenseman Adam Pelech said. "We’ve been in these spots before."
The game didn’t turn in the Islanders’ favor until early in the second period.
David Krejci gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal at 3:57 and Trotz unsuccessfully challenged that Brad Marchand interfered with Varlamov by getting his stick on the goalie’s pad. That put the Bruins right back on the power play but the Islanders killed it off, leading to Palmieri’s equalizer.
"Varly couldn’t move his leg and that’s what we told the referee," Trotz said. "We got it wrong so I thanked all the guys for the next penalty kill. They did a great job and gave us momentum back."
The Islanders came out with a hard push fueled by their strong forecheck in a feisty first period. Former Hart Trophy winner Taylor Hall, engaging in just his second NHL fight, dropped the gloves with defenseman Scott Mayfield at 7:28. Matt Martin engaged in a heavyweight bout with defenseman Jarred Tinordi after the Bruins objected to Barzal’s high stick on Lazar at 9:23, an infraction that may draw a fine from the league.
Barzal later took a stick to the groin from Krejci at 11:16 of the second period he deemed, "a tad vicious," despite the initial five-minute spearing call being reduced to a two-minute slash.
The Islanders were lucky not to trail after an unchecked David Pastrnak, getting a cross-ice feed to the left circle from Patrice Bergeron, hit the far post shooting staring at a wide-open net at 16:58.
Andrew Gross joined Newsday in 2018 to cover the Islanders. He began reporting on the NHL in 2003 and has previously covered the Rangers and Devils. Other assignments have included the Jets, St. John’s and MLB.
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