Boston Bruins: Second round preview against the Islanders

On Wednesday night, the 4-seed New York Islanders defeated the top seeded Pittsburgh Penguins for the right to play the Boston Bruins in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs.

With Game 1 of the second round set to take place at TD Garden on Saturday night, the Bruins will have six days of rest going into the matchup. Let’s take a look at how the B’s stack up against the Islanders.

Tale of the tape

• The Bruins went 3-3-2 against the Islanders this season.
• The Bruins are 3-0 against the Islanders since April.
• The Bruins scored 2.25 goals on average against the Islanders, while the Islanders scored an average of 2.63.
• In five games against the Islanders, Tuukka Rask has a 1.86 GAA and a .925 save percentage.

What to expect from the Boston Bruins in the second round

The New York Islanders were a thorn in the Boston Bruins side for the majority of this season, beating them five times in five tries until April. However, the Bruins have won the last three matchups – Rask won two and Jeremy Swayman won one – and are a lot more rested than the Islanders.

We can argue the merits of whether it’s better to get rest or keep playing when you’re hot, but I’m going to lean towards some extra R&R for an older Bruins core that will need all of their strength and speed to beat a younger Islanders team.

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Brad Marchand, David Pastrnak, and Taylor Hall were absolute menaces against the Islanders in the last three games, accounting for eight out of ten total goals. As a whole, the Bruins were firing at will, outshooting the Islanders 111 to 66 in those three games.

If the Bruins come out with the same energy and determination that they had against the Washington Capitals in the first round, there will be bigger fish to fry than the New York Islanders. If not, this could quickly turn into a tight, hard-fought series, and that’s not something you want to get into with this Islanders team.

The Islanders have a defensive-first mindset, and two borderline elite goalies on their roster to fall back on. That style of play has been known to frustrate the Bruins in the past, however the Islanders won’t have the benefit of shooting at Tristan Jarry this series.

Prediction

Bruins in five. The Islanders can be a tough matchup, but Boston is better in almost every phase of the game. If the Bruins play their game – dictate the pace and flow with their potent offense and physical defense – the Islanders shouldn’t be in the way of Boston’s second conference finals appearance in three years.