Bruins Will Face Islanders In Second Round Of Stanley Cup Playoffs
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Bruins learned Wednesday night that they'll be facing the New York Islanders in the next round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The Islanders advanced to the second round by beating the Penguins at Nassau Coliseum on Wednesday night, winning the series four games to two and eliminating Pittsburgh from the playoffs.
With time winding down in Wednesday's win over the Penguins, Islanders fans started chanting "We want Boston."
The Bruins have been waiting to learn their next opponent since Sunday evening, when they eliminated the Washington Capitals with a 3-1 victory in Game 5.
The format of this year's postseason was made to pit opponents from their temporary 2021 divisions against each other for the first two rounds. Given that format, the Bruins and Islanders are quite familiar with each other, having faced off eight times during the regular season.
The Islanders famously won the first five of those matchups, a stretch that was highlighted by a 7-2 thumping on Long Island in late February. The Islanders earned 11 of a possible 16 points in their eight games vs. the Bruins this year.
But the Bruins won the final three matchups of the year against the Islanders, winning back to back games on Long Island in mid-April and then beating the Islanders in overtime in Boston on May 10.
Rookie goaltender Ilya Sorokin didn't experience much of that success against Boston this year, as he went 0-1-1 in his three starts against the Bruins. He posted a .921 save percentage and 2.23 GAA in those games. Veteran Semyon Varlamov went 5-1-0 with a .943 save percentage and 1.93 GAA with one shutout vs. Boston this year.
On the other end, Tuukka Rask avoided much of the damage inflicted on the Bruins by the Islanders this season. He went 2-2-0 with a .925 save percentage and 1.86 GAA in his four starts (five appearances) vs. the Islanders. In his career, he's 19-7-1 with a .936 save percentage and 1.88 GAA vs. the Islanders.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored five goals and had three assists vs. Boston, while Mathew Barzal scored three goals and assisted on four more. For the Bruins, Taylor Hall and Brad Marchand each scored four goals vs. the Islanders, with both Marchand and David Pastrnak registering seven points in the season series.
The Bruins and Islanders have only met in the playoffs twice before -- in 1980 and 1983. The Islanders, bookending their run of four consecutive Stanley Cups, won both series.