The Boston Bruins will attempt to complete a three-game season sweep of the New York Islanders when they return home to begin a quick homestand on Saturday.
Boston, which will also host the Ottawa Senators on Monday afternoon before starting a four-game Western road trip, beat the Islanders in December and January.
Before returning home, the Bruins came from behind for a 3-2 overtime win over the host Dallas Stars on Tuesday before rolling past the host Nashville Predators 5-0 two nights later.
Boston winger Jake DeBrusk is slated to play on Saturday, returning from hand and leg injuries that he sustained in the Jan. 2 Winter Classic.
“He’s been cleared for a little while, but where he’s at with the tenderness and checking the boxes to be ready to play mentally and physically, we think he’s in a good spot,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said of DeBrusk.
Despite the results on the just-ended 2-0-0 road trip, Montgomery did not believe his team was at its best but did say it was opportunistic.
Jeremy Swayman made 28 saves to post his second shutout of the season and second in as many career starts against Nashville.
“I didn’t think we were on top of our game,” Montgomery said. “I think that if our goaltender wasn’t as good as he was, it would’ve been a tight game. We had some fortunate bounces that went in the net.”
Five different Bruins scored against the Predators, and Boston broke an 0-for-21 power-play drought with captain Patrice Bergeron’s second-period goal.
Bergeron had not logged a point in six-plus games, the same length as the Bruins’ outage with a man advantage.
“We created some momentum out of (the power plays),” Bergeron said. “You’re not always gonna score on it, but if you’re at least able to create some chances and give your team a boost, I thought we did that.”
New York is set to play the second a back-to-back games, having come from behind to earn a 5-4 win over the visiting Pittsburgh Penguins on Friday.
The victory broke a 0-1-2 skid that had followed a four-game win streak.
“We’ve talked very, very often about the fact we need victories, so it was a big win for us,” Islanders coach Lane Lambert said.
Brock Nelson and captain Anders Lee each had two goals and an assist for the Islanders, who scored the only two goals of the third period to earn the victory despite being outshot 44-28.
Zach Parise netted his 82nd career game-winning goal with 2:43 remaining. The tally came on the night when he became the fourth active American-born skater to play in 1,200 career NHL games.
“I think it’s fitting,” Nelson said. “You talk about a great guy who does everything the right way. He goes about his business and works extremely hard. It’s like it’s his first day every time because his energy is contagious.”
Nelson, who had the game-tying goal, extended his point streak to 12 games, the Islanders’ longest since John Tavares’ 12-game run in 2011-12.
Lee scored his 20th and 21st goals of the season, reaching the 20 mark for the seventh time in his career. He had been on a five-game goal drought before Friday.
–Field Level Media
