— x - New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) June 1, 2021
The Islanders went with Semyon Varlamov in net, who hadn’t played since the second game of the first round series against Pittsburgh. Personally, I would’ve gone back to Sorokin but it did work out well for New York.
That said, for the second game in a row, the Islanders didn’t have a great start. The Bruins opened the scoring on the first shot of the game, with Charlie Coyle driving wide and getting by Nick Leddy, before tucking the puck around Varlamov. Boston controlled most of the frame, outshooting New York by a ridiculous 15-6 margin.
Things changed in the second period though, as the Islanders put together what was their first strong period of the series to that point. Josh Bailey tied the game with a lucky bounce on a power play, before Kyle Palmieri jammed in a loose puck about midway through the frame to give the Islanders the lead. New York wasn’t done there, however, as Jean-Gabriel Pageau tapped in a pass at the side of the net on another power play to put the Islanders up 3-1 before the end of the second period.
The Bruins would climb back in the third period though, with Patrice Bergeron cutting the lead to a single goal about halfway through the period, off a pass from Brad Marchand. Marchand himself would then tie the game on a power play with about five minutes left, beating Varlamov with a great wrist shot. The Islanders actually did a fairly good job limiting chances in the third period despite the goals, but also got very little going to try and build onto their lead.
The teams played pretty cautiously in overtime, but Casey Cizikas managed to capitalize on a turnover at his own blue line, then go down the other way and beat Tuukka Rask on a breakaway to secure a win for the Islanders.
Semyon Varlamov was solid in the win. Again, I personally would’ve stuck with Sorokin but that’s the beauty of having two quality goalies available for the playoffs.
Game 2 was certainly a big step up from Game 1 for the Islanders, especially after the first period. New York did a much better job of limiting Boston’s chances and despite giving up the lead in the third period, it was a strong outing overall.
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Who do you think was New York's best line in Game 2?
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