The Boston Bruins and visiting New York Islanders go head-to-head for the first time this season in a Tuesday night matchup of Eastern Conference teams trending in opposite directions.
The Islanders carry a five-game unbeaten streak (4-0-1) into their first of three games in four nights, while the Bruins look to take advantage of a bounce-back opportunity a night after their seventh loss in eight games — a 7-2 Monday defeat at the Ottawa Senators.
Amid a strong run of late, Saturday’s 4-3 shootout loss at Philadelphia marked New York’s first blemish since a three-game skid to begin the season. Long Island, N.Y., native defenseman Marshall Warren was a bright spot, registering two assists in his NHL debut.
“You dream about it. How many nights I’ve dreamt of that, when it comes to fruition, it’s really cool,” said Warren, the ex-Boston College captain who was recalled from AHL affiliate Bridgeport last week.
As of Monday, Isles coach Patrick Roy had not decided whether Warren or Adam Boqvist will play against the Bruins. Alexander Romanov (upper-body injury) will miss a fifth straight game, though he has returned to practice in a non-contact jersey.
Romanov’s absence has left plenty of ice time for reigning No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Schaefer, who played a game-high 27:40 — including a 3-on-3 assignment with veteran forwards Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat to begin overtime — on Saturday.
“I’m very impressed with the way he supports the attack, but I’m also very impressed with the way he defends,” Roy said. “He’s in those shooting lanes, he blocks shots, he’s having great reads, he’s quick on loose pucks, those 50-50s and he wins those battles.”
Isles captain Anders Lee has notched eight points (two goals, six assists) in his last four games.
After surrendering four power-play goals Monday night in Ottawa, the Bruins hope to bank a second straight home win after they rallied for a 3-2 Saturday victory over the Colorado Avalanche.
Curbing penalty troubles will be crucial if the Bruins hope to make a fast turnaround.
“I think it finally caught up to us a little bit,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm told NESN. “We can’t take five penalties every night. It’s going to be hard on our killers. We knew (Ottawa) had really good … centermen lining up. They won their faceoffs really clean and we didn’t do a good job.”
Monday marked David Pastrnak’s second straight game with only a single shot on goal, but linemate Morgan Geekie notched his fifth goal in a four-game span and has a team-high seven this season.
While Geekie’s personal success has not translated to the team through much of the early going, the Bruins have a chance to right the ship immediately.
“The best thing about this league is you just get right back on the horse. You don’t have to wait a week or anything,” Geekie said. “I think this will weigh on a lot of guys. It’s tough to let this one go. But it’s a day-to-day league.”
Viktor Arvidsson scored the only other Bruins goal in Ottawa, which was his second in as many games and extended his points streak to four.
Boston goaltenders Jeremy Swayman and Joonas Korpisalo have both surrendered seven goals within the past three games. Swayman was the starter on Monday, stopping 17 of 24 shots.
New York won two of the teams’ three head-to-head meetings last season, including both in Boston.
