Rask stymies Islanders as Bruins coast to win
BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask turned aside 30 shots for his fourth straight win, leading the Boston Bruins to a 3-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night.
Rask, who had been struggling to start the season, causing a bit of a goaltending controversy as Anton Khudobin ripped off four straight wins, has allowed just four goals during his winning streak. He lost what would have been his 40th career shutout when Anders Lee scored with 3:08 left but raised his record to 7-8-2.
With the Islanders pressing for the tying goal, Danton Heinen hit the empty net with 41.2 seconds remaining in the game.
Brad Marchand (11th goal) and rookie Jake DeBrusk (sixth) scored, with Torey Krug and David Pastrnak assisting on both goals as the Bruins won for the fourth time in their last five games.
Marchand beat Jaroslav Halak with a soft power-play goal -- the ninth power play goal allowed by the Islanders in the last five games -- in the second period. DeBrusk then scored in the third as the Bruins (14-9-4) climbed above the actual .500 mark for the first time since they were 1-0-0.
The Bruins killed a three-minute power play late in the game when Frank Vatrano received a major penalty and a game misconduct for head butting, but Lee's tap-in goal came just after the power play ended.
Rask made 26 of his saves in the second and third periods.
The assists extended Pastrnak's points streak to eight straight games, with four goals and six assists over that span. Marchand has eight points during a five-game streak. Patrice Bergeron assisted on the final goal and has a four-game streak.
Krug's assists gave him 14 points in the last 15 games.
Halak, solid except for the Marchand goal, made 30 saves while falling to 8-7-1.
Rookie Mat Barzal assisted on the New York goal and has 28 points in 29 games. He came in leading NHL rookies in scoring.
NOTES: One former Bruin D out and another in for the Islanders, with Johnny Boychuk missing his second straight game with a lower-body injury, while Dennis Seidenberg dressed for only his 11th game of the season. He replaced healthy scratch D Scott Mayfield. ... Isles D Calvin de Haan played in his 300th NHL game. ... The Islanders play their next two at home, hosting the Washington Capitals Monday, while the Bruins are at Detroit Wednesday.