(Uniondale) Brock Nelson scored twice, while the New York Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 6-2 on Wednesday night to advance to the Stanley Cup playoff quarterfinals.
Nelson scored two goals in the second period to start the offense for the Islanders, who also limited the Bruins chances.
The New York team won the series in six games and reached four sides in the second season in a row.
The islanders are now crossing swords with the Tampa Bay lightning that knocked out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.
Last year, in a defensive environment in Toronto, Lightning beat the Islanders in six games to reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Travis Jazak, Kyle Palmiri and Barry Trotz added a goal for the men as Call Clatterback and Ryan Pulok completed the scoring on the empty net. Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pejou collected two assists.
Semian Varlamov averaged 39 shots on four starts in that series, but was less busy in the sixth game. The Russian goalkeeper fired back 23 shots for the islanders, who recorded their third consecutive victory.
Brad Marchand used the power play to win two games for the Bruins, who lost for the second year in a row in the second round to reach the Stanley Cup final in 2019.
Whatever her last game in the Bruins uniform, Tuyuka Rask conceded four of 27 shots. Rask is an unrestricted free agent this summer.
The score was 1-1 after 20 minutes, but the Islanders exploded with three goals in the second period, their best in the series. They beat the Bruins 8-3 in the second period of the first five games.
Within a minute of Patrice Bergeron making a neat stopper with Varlamov padding at the expense, Nelson stole the puck from Matt Grezelsik and he broke up. The Islanders beat Rask forward at the top of the net.
Verlamov scored twice as many runs over Chris Wagner and Charlie Koil, and his teammates rewarded him by increasing their lead.
Josh Bailey blocked a pass from Rask and the puck slipped to Nelson. The next time the Bruins deceived the goaltender’s vigilance to collect his sixth goal in the current series.
With 3:53 remaining in the second period, the islanders continued their dominance. Adam Pelech’s point shot was blocked by Rask, but Palmiri grabbed the return and nailed it to the head to hit the Bruins hard.
Boston forces closed the gap as they advanced with another man at 5:38 in the final period. Marchand worked close to the net and brought the puck into his backhand before slipping behind the red line.
The Islanders tightened the game on defense, and the Bruins took just five shots in the third period. Clotterbuck and Pulok closed the books 11 seconds apart.
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