BOSTON -- Rookie Peter Cehlarik’s third-period goal made sure a historic night for one of the ultimate Bruins ended on a positive note.
Cehlarik snapped a five-game goal-less streak and a 1-1 tie with 13:26 remaining, giving the B’s a 3-1 victory over the Islanders in center Patrice Bergeron’s 1,000th career game.
Bergeron scored the Bruins’ first goal, and clinched the victory on an empty-net goal in the final [...]
BOSTON -- Rookie Peter Cehlarik’s third-period goal made sure a historic night for one of the ultimate Bruins ended on a positive note.
Cehlarik snapped a five-game goal-less streak and a 1-1 tie with 13:26 remaining, giving the B’s a 3-1 victory over the Islanders in center Patrice Bergeron’s 1,000th career game.
Bergeron scored the Bruins’ first goal, and clinched the victory on an empty-net goal in the final minute.
Tuukka Rask made 28 saves to improve to 8-0-2 in his last 10 decisions, and helped the B’s win at TD Garden for just the second time in the last seven games (2-2-3).
Cehlarik broke the 1-1 tie 6:34 into the third period, with his third goal of the season. Kevan Miller slipped coverage at the Islanders blue line and snapped a shot from inside the right point that Robin Lehner saved, but wasn’t cleared. Cehlarik kicked the puck onto his stick blade and got off a relatively weak shot, but it banked off Lehner as he dove back to the crease.
Cehlarik’s goal came less than two minutes after the Bruins appeared to have fallen behind, 2-1, on Cal Clutterbuck’s shot from the right circle beat that Rask to the far side at the end of a 3-on-2 rush. The goal came off the board, however, when the Bruins’ successfully challenged that Islanders defenseman Devon Toews was offside when Casey Cizikas crossed the blue line with the puck.
There weren’t many hockey-related reasons for fans to cheer in the first period. The crowd was thrilled by the number of Patriots, including team owner Robert Kraft and Super Bowl MVP Julian Edelman, who stopped by to participate in a pre-game ceremony after their championship parade, and enjoyed in-game recognition of Bergeron’s 1,000th game (players on both benches stood to acknowledge that announcement after 3:15) and Rask’s franchise-record 253rd career victory, but otherwise was mainly frustrated.
The Islanders, helped by David Backes’ delay of game penalty after just 18 seconds, took first five shots of the game. The Bruins were awarded three straight power plays (9:43, 11:51 and 15:04) but rarely threatened until halfway through the last opportunity, when Jake DeBrusk’s short pass gave David Krejci an uncontested look between the circles, but Robin Lehner denied the shot.
Things changed early in the second period, when Bergeron scored his 17th goal of the season and 306th of his career.
David Pastrnak set the play in motion by slipping the puck through a pinching Islanders defenseman to Brad Marchand, giving the B’s a 2-on-1. With Bergeron trailing, Marchand fed Pastrnak for a shot that Lehner stopped, but Bergeron crashed the net and was able to push the rebound home at 2:32.
The B’s, however, started picking up penalties, and it cost them. They were able to kill off the tripping penalty that Brandon Carlo took at 10:08, but didn’t survive when Chris Wagner was sent off for slashing at 15:45. Jordan Eberle made it 1-1 with 3:20 left in the period, stepping off the goal line to Rask’s right with Mathew Barzal’s pass, and finding space between Rask’s pads.