Isles come back against tough Bruins

Islanders fans at Nassau Coliseum Friday night did not let a single shift pass without smothering Zdeno Chara with a blanket of boos, but it was the four unanswered Islanders goals that left the 6-9 defenseman and his Boston Bruins truly rattled.

Trailing by two goals for almost the entire first two periods, the Islanders scored four straight to beat the Bruins, 4-2, in front of 12,119.

Matt Moulson tallied a key power-play goal at 19:58 of the second period to cut the Bruins' lead to 2-1. Defenseman Jack Hillen gave the Islanders a 3-2 lead in the third period with a slap shot that deflected in off Dennis Seidenberg at 5:58. Michael Grabner and PA Parenteau also scored to help knock off the Northeast Division leaders.

"[The Bruins are] one of the best teams in the league," Hillen said. "We didn't get down on ourselves. It just goes to show what our team is capable of doing."

Hillen had a team-leading four shots in the first period. "I didn't want to pass up any shots, especially against a guy like Tim Thomas, who is one of the best goalies in the league," said Hillen, who finished with seven of the Islanders' 41 shots on goal.

The Islanders are tied with the Bruins for the most points (49) in the Eastern Conference since Dec. 16, when they ended a one-win-in-21-games skid.

"Unbelievable effort by the team," said goaltender Al Montoya, who made 26 saves. "This is phenomenal to get a win against this team in our building."

The building was a hostile environment for Chara, who tallied the Bruins' second goal.

The derision directed at Chara had little to do with the fact that he is a former Islander -- Chara was a third-round pick in 1996 -- but rather the perceived bias by the league's decision-makers in the discipline department. Chara recently escaped punishment from the NHL for his devastating hit on Montreal's Max Pacioretty, one that left Pacioretty with a concussion and fractured vertebra after Chara rode him into a stanchion near the benches.

League disciplinarian Colin Campbell, whose son Gregory plays for the Bruins, has been perceived as heavy-handed in levying punishment against the Islanders, who have received three suspensions and a $100,000 fine in the last month.

Chara, the imposing blue-liner, seemed unfazed by the jeers in the second period when he gave the Bruins a 2-0 lead with a five-on-three power-play goal. But the game changed on Moulson's power-play goal with two seconds remaining in the period.

"Probably the turning point in the game," Islanders coach Jack Capuano said.

Converting a nice no-look feed from John Tavares, Moulson notched his team-leading 29th goal of the season.

Grabner knotted the score at 2 with his 28th of the season in the third period.

Parenteau was awarded the Islanders' fourth goal with less than 10 seconds remaining in the game after being dragged down on a breakaway while facing an empty Bruins net. Parenteau has a career-high 16 goals.

With their fourth win in five games, the Islanders are 10 points behind the Rangers, who hold the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference.

"Confidence and belief in one another, for sure. We've got a young group in there," Capuano said about the team's recent success. "They're focused. Their attention to detail is excellent. When you do those things, you have a chance to win hockey games."