The 2021 Stanley Cup Playoff run for the Boston Bruins came to an end in the second round on Wednesday night, falling 6-2 to the New York Islanders in Game 6 at Nasseau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. New York wins the best of seven series 4-2.
Travis Zajac made it 1-0 New York in the first, scooping up a rebound of a Noah Dobson point shot and firing it in past Boston goaltender Tuuka Rask in the low slot at 8:52. Brad Marchand tied it for the Bruins on the powerplay at 17:36, off a beautiful feed in the low slot from David Pastrnak and burying a one timer from the right faceoff circle.
The Islanders took over in the second period as Brock Nelson scored goals at 5:20 and the eventual game winner at 12:39. Kyle Palmieri gave the hosts a three goal cushion at 16:07. Marchand scored his second of the night on the powerplay at 5:38 of the third to give Boston some hope slicing the deficit to 4-2 with still plenty of time to play. It wasn’t mean to be however as New York went into lockdown mode defensively, and finished off the Bruins with empty net goals at 19:01 and 19:12 from Cal Clutterbuck and Ryan Pulock.
Rask made 23 saves in net in the final game of the season for Boston. Marchand was the only multiple point scorer for the black and gold with his two goals. Semyon Valarmov also made 23 saves to help New York advance. Nelson had two goals, while Josh Bailey and Jean-Gabriel Pageau added two assists each. The Bruins went 2-3 on the powerplay, while the Islanders were 0-1. Boston finishes their season with a final record of 39-21-7, going 6-5 in the two playoff matchups with Washington and New York. Three of the final four teams are now set for the NHL Semifinals, with the winners advancing to the Stanley Cup Finals. The Isles will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in a rematch of last seasons Eastern Conference Finals that was won by Tampa in six games. In the other bracket, the Montreal Canadiens face the winner of the Colorado/Las Vegas series in which the Golden Knights currently hold a 3-2 lead.
