UNIONDALE, N.Y. - Short on bodies, and their emotions flatter than an
They lost scores of one-on-one battles. They were beaten in 1,001 footraces. They constantly were roped into their end by the hard-charging and forechecking Islanders, who forced the Bruins to cough up pucks and misfire into shooting lanes in their rare forays around the New York net.
Oh, and they won, 2-1, running their victory streak to four games and increasing their Eastern Conference-leading point total to 70. Even bad turns into good for the 2008-09 Bruins.
"They worked really hard and were the better team tonight," said veteran Bruins winger P.J. Axelsson. "A lot of it was that we were trying to be too cute, trying to make plays all the time instead of just shooting the puck and going to the net. Thank goodness for Timmy [Thomas] - he was fantastic."
Thomas, now with three straight wins and his game back in top form, turned back 40 shots, improving his record to 19-4-3. Marc Savard and Martin St. Pierre connected for the goals that had the Bruins positioned with a 2-0 lead by 6:51 of the third period. When the Islanders (now a bottom-of-the-barrel 12-28-2-2 in the East) finally scored, Yann Danis was out of net and the shot by former Bruin Bill Guerin had to ricochet in off the boot of David Krejci to thwart Thomas's shutout bid.
"Yeah, bounces happen," said Thomas, noting that he was square to the shooter and figured he had Guerin's shot covered. "It's not like that puck went in because of laziness on our part. It just caught a skate, and that stuff happens."
Without a copy of the standings in hand, a casual fan might have watched the first period and figured the Islanders were the conference pacesetters. Scott Gordon's charges constantly and diligently forechecked the Bruins, penning them in their end, and the stat sheet after 20 minutes accurately reflected how the period went - the Islanders holding a 17-7 shot advantage.
The Islanders also were far stronger at the faceoff dot, winning 11 of 17 draws (65 percent) over the first 20 minutes. For the night, the Islanders won 29 of 53 faceoffs (55 percent). Despite their poor season, the Islanders have the requisite speed and determination to become a factor in the conference. What they need is some added finish, touch around the net, along with NHL-caliber goaltending. Rick DiPietro, their No. 1 goaltender, has struggled with injuries, and last night the untested Danis got the start.
