NHL Releases Remainder Of Schedule For Bruins-Islanders Series
BOSTON (CBS) -- The Boston Bruins and the New York Islanders are battling for a trip to the Stanley Cup semifinals, and we now know when the rest of the series will be played.
After the Bruins' 5-2 win in Game on Saturday night, the NHL announced the dates for all seven games (if necessary) as well as the start times for most of the remainder of their second-round playoff series.
The Bruins have home ice in the series, after finishing the regular season two points ahead of the Islanders in the East division.
Here is the schedule thus far for the series:
Game 1: Saturday May 29, 8 p.m., in Boston
Game 2: Monday May 31, 7:30 p.m., in Boston
Game 3: Thursday June 3, 7:30 p.m., in Long Island
Game 4: Saturday June 5, 7:15 p.m., in Long Island
Game 5: Monday June 7, Time TBD, in Boston (if necessary)
Game 6: Wednesday June 9, Time TBD, in Long Island (if necessary)
Game 7: Friday June 11, Time TBD, in Boston (if necessary)
The Bruins and Islanders are very familiar with each other, with eight head-to-head matchups during the regular season. New York 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 against Boston this year.
But Boston won each of the final three matchups, winning back to back games on Long Island in mid-April and then beating the Islanders in overtime in Boston on May 10. On Saturday night, David Pastrnak netted a hat trick -- the 12th of his career -- as the Bruins turned a tight game into a comfortable 5-2 victory.
Prior to Saturday night, it had been a while since the two teams met in the playoffs, as the two teams had only met twice before -- in 1980 and 1983. Back then, the two teams played in the Wales Conference Final, before the name was changed ahead of the 1993-94 season. The Islanders won both series, part of the franchise's run to four straight Stanley Cup titles.