The New York Islanders are moving on to the semifinals after defeating the Boston Bruins in Game Six of their second round playoff series.
The Islanders won the round with a 6-2 win Wednesday night, improving to 8-0 in clinching Game Sixes at the Nassau Coliseum.
And they did the job with a boisterous live crowd at the Old Barn, a throng that sang and chanted and kept the energy going throughout the Wednesday contest. It may be the end of an era at Nassau, but these Islanders and these fans are making the most of it.
Travis Zajac opened the scoring with his first goal of the playoffs, but Boston’s Brad Marchand answered back under 10 minutes later to tie the game.
In the second period, it was all New York. Brock Nelson scored twice and Kyle Palmieri found twine with four minutes to go in the middle frame, sending his club to the locker room with a 4-1 lead.
Marchand fired back just over five minutes into the third, with his eighth goal of the playoffs, but it wasn’t enough.
The Islanders popped two more into the empty net to close up shop, with Cal Clutterbuck and Ryan Pulock pouring it on.
New York outshot the Bruins in the final game of the series. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 23 Boston shots, while Tuukka Rask faced 29 shots.
The Islanders were able to roll four lines throughout the series and keep pushing, launching an aggressive forecheck against the Bruins and loading up on pressure. When Boston did get an opening, New York was waiting with a total team effort that locked down the zone and contained play.
Next, New York will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the semifinals.
Pic: Brad Penner/USA Today