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The New York Islanders picked up a 3-1 win over the Boston Bruins tonight, improving to a 8-12-5 record.
The Islanders came out really strong, leading in shots by as much as a 9-2 margin at one point. Cal Clutterbuck opened the scoring midway through the frame, putting a puck over Linus Ullmark to give New York the lead. Clutterbuck’s would be the only goal of the period, but the Islanders were able to sustain pressure and create chances throughout the frame and it was a really positive period as a whole.
The Islanders increased their lead to 2-0 under two minutes into the second period, as Anthony Beauvillier stepped into a shot on the power play and beat Ullmark. The Bruins started to get some chances after and ended up managing a ridiculous 21 shots in the period. Even though a lot of them came from the outside, the Islanders still were fortunate to not give up a goal in the frame, as it remained 2-0 after 40 minutes.
The teams traded chances in the final frame, despite the Bruins pulling away in shots. The Islanders would seal the deal with about two minutes to go, with Clutterbuck putting a shot into the empty net. The Bruins broke Semyon Varlamov’s shutout in the final minute, as Mike Reilly beat Varlamov with a bit of an off-speed shot, but the Islanders held on for a 3-1 win.
Despite being outshot by quite a margin, the shots didn’t really reflect the reflect how the game went. Not a ton of those shots resulted in quality chances and the Islanders looked a lot more like the themselves tonight.
Varlamov stopped 40 shots in the win, which was great to see. He’s struggled this year and he seemed a bit shaky in the first period with some of his reactions looking a little off, but he ended up putting together a great game.
Anthony Beauvillier scored as well, which was really important, given he’s one of the players who really has not performed this year. Hopefully he’s able to snap out of his slump and put together some strong games. Robin Salo also picked up his first NHL point in the win.
So the Islanders have now won three of their last five games. They’ve still got a ways to go and they have holes in their lineup that aren’t going to be fixed internally, but this is a start. Up next, they’ve got three more home games in a row, with their next game coming on Sunday against the Vegas Golden Knights.
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OTHER ARTICLES FROM DECEMBER
Islanders’ losing streak reaches 11 games
Islanders finally snap losing streak with win over Senators
Islanders place Anatolii Golyshev on waivers to terminate contract
Islanders allow late goal in loss to Predators, remain winless at UBS Arena
Islanders finally pick up first win at UBS Arena, beat Devils 4-2
Islanders fail to build momentum, lose 2-1 to Red Wings 
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