After pointing out in my last Bruins post how irrelevant the NHL is right now, I am going to do a 180 and tell you what a big win it was last night over the Islanders.
Boston (2-2-0) was completely lifeless at the Garden and faced a 3-0 deficit in the third period before they tied it up with three goals in a little over five minutes. The B's kept the good vibes going as they outscored the Islanders (0-0-3) 2-1 in the shootout.
Looking for a spark, Bruins head coach Claude Julien started talented backup goalie Tukka Rask. It wasn't really his fault as New York scored three goals in the second period.
Jon Sim scored on a power-play goal, Radek Martinek tallied a goal and No. 1 draft pick John Tavares rounded out the scoring for what is expected to be one of the NHL's worst teams.
At 11:59 in the third period, Marc Savard finally got the B's on the board with a goal from Zdeno Chara and Milan Lucic. Byron Bitz cut it to 3-2 with a pretty spin and shot that deflected off an Islanders defenseman's skate, past goalie Dwayne Roloson. Steve Begin and Matt Hunwick assisted on the goal.
Through four games, Boston's best line by far has been the fourth which consistently brings energy and pressure.
Less than two minutes later Hunwick tied it with his wrist shot that went top shelf through a ton of traffic in front of Roloson (27 saves). The Garden crowd went nuts as the Bruins had improbably come back from a seemingly insurmountable hole.
Blake Wheeler scored first in the shootout and Rob Schremp answered for New York. Savard was the last shooter to score as the Islanders last two shooters missed the net.
Rask finished with 35 saves in his first win of the '09-'10 season. It should be the first of many this season as along with Tim Thomas, the Bruins possess one of the best goalie tandems in the league.
Boston hosts Colorado tomorrow afternoon in a Columbus Day matinee at the Garden.
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