Bergeron Return Sparks Bruins to 6-3 Win Over NY Islanders

You get a goal, and you get a goal, everyone gets a goal. The Boston Bruins got goals from six different forwards in a 6-3 win over the New York Islanders in a Saturday matinee at TD Garden.

Patrice Bergeron returned after a 4 game absence and the Bruins has their top 3 lines cranking once again. The top line of Marchand-Bergeron-DeBrusk racked up 5 points with 2nd line of Hall-Haula-Pastrnak combining for 7 points.

The Bruins raced out to a 2-0 lead with first-period goals from Charlie Coyle and Taylor Hall. They blew things open in the second period on tallies from David Pastrnak, Brad Marchand, Erik Haula, and Jake DeBrusk.

The best goal of the period came courtesy of the second line, which has been hotter than the freaking sun lately. It began with a great zone entry from Taylor Hall, who head faked in the neutral zone sparking a beautiful tic tac toe goal capped off by Erik Haula. Haula now has 7 points in his last three games.

The Bruins are now 14-2-1 in their last 17 games. Their next game is against the Toronto Maple Leafs Tuesday at TD Garden.

3 Stars

Taylor Hall: Hall not only had 3 points in this one but used his great north-to-south skating to create a boatload of chances for others. Taylor Hall now has 7 points in his last 6 games for the Bruins and is on one of the hottest lines in hockey. 

Brad Marchand: The little ball of hate had one of his signature games this afternoon. Marchand tallied three points and used his body position and strength to create extended amounts of offensive zone time for the Bruins. 

Charlie McAvoy: McAvoy not only contributed on the score sheet with a pair of assists but was able to jumpstart more plays in this one. He was also physical and made a lot of good reads throughout the game, including the break-out play for the first Bruins goal. 

Biggest Bender

Linus Ullmark: Ullmark got the win, his third straight but was shaky between the pipes allowing several rebounds and second chance opportunities.

So that happened…

With the Bruins firmly in the driver’s seat in this one, the Hockey gods made a curtain call on what might have been one of the wackiest goals in Jake Debrusk’s career.

Debrusk received the puck down low off a Brad Marchand dump in and threw a blind backhand pass towards the front of the net. The puck proceeded to ramp off the stick of Isles defenseman Adam Pelech, and Debrusk made his case for a Red Sox roster spot after batting the puck in off of goaltender Semyon Varlamov’s back and into the net. 

That’s what he said…

Forward Patrice Bergeron returned to the lineup playing in his 1,200 NHL game, good for third all time in franchise history. Bergeron and head coach Bruce Cassidy talked about the milestone after the game.

“I guess I’ve been around for a while. It’s been a long road that went fast,” Bergeron said. “It’s kind of crazy to think. … You appreciate the moment and be thankful for everything you go through.”

Cassidy joked that he hopes there are many more milestones ahead for the Bruins captain, who has yet to commit to playing beyond this season.

“I told him we need you around for 1,300, by the way, and beyond,” Cassidy said. “Credit to him to play for one organization that long. Obviously, that tells you a little bit about both sides. He loves it here and we love having him.”