Brad Marchand scored a game winning overtime goal on Thursday night, as the Boston Bruins took a 2-1 series lead in their best of seven second round playoff matchup with a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders at Nasseau Coliseum in Uniondale, NY.
Boston opened the scoring on a first period goal from Craig Smith, who had missed Game 2 due to an injury suffered in a Bruins Game 1 win. Matt Grzeclyk skated across the blue line and shuffled a pass off to Tyler Hall on the right wing. Hall then found Smith open in the slot between the two faceoff circles, and Smith roofed home a wrist shot past New York goaltender Semyon Valarmov at 5:52. The score stayed the same until late in the third period, but it wasn’t without both teams having plenty of chances especially Boston who had eight of the final 10 shots of the second period and the first eight on net in the third. The B’s had 21 shots in the final period of regulation, but came up with nothing to show for it. The Islanders tied it to eventually send the game to the extra session on a goal by Mathew Barzal at 14:34. After a shot went wide of Tuuka Rask, Barzal gathered behind the net and wrapped it around from right to left at the net front and poked it at twice before a third chance at the loose puck found its way under the goaltender to make it 1-1. New York had a late powerplay after a crosschecking penalty to Sean Kuraly with 2:15 left to play. Boston did a good job though to kill off the chance.
New York carried a good portion of the play early in overtime with the first five shots on goal. On the game winner, Charlie McAvoy skated across center ice and got it to Marchand across the blue line on the left wing. Marchand from along the boards got almost into the corner, before letting go a shot from an off angle that surprised Valarmov glove side off the right post and into the cage at 3:36.
Rask finished with 28 saves in the win. Valarmov made 39 in the loss, with many key saves especially late in the second and early in the third period to give his team a chance. Both clubs were unsuccessful with the powerplay, as Boston went 0-2 and New York was 0-3. With the win, Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy moved ahead of Art Ross for sole possession of second place in playoff wins in franchise history with his 33rd (Claude Julien first with 57). A pivotal Game 4 is scheduled for a 7:15 p.m. start Saturday night in Uniondale.
