Islanders eliminate Bruins from playoffs with dominant Game 6 win originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston
The Boston Bruins were eliminated from the 2021 Stanley Cup Playoffs in a 6-2 defeat to the New York Islanders in Game 6 of their second-round playoff series Wednesday night at Nassau Coliseum.
The Bruins and Islanders were tied at one entering the second period, and that's when New York broke the game open with three unanswered goals.
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The B's got a power-play tally in the third period, but they never seriously threatened the Islanders' lead. New York's defensive structure and the excellent goaltending of Semyon Varlamov were too much for the B's to overcome in the final 20 minutes of regulation. In fact, the Bruins actually had zero shots on goal over a 13-minute span in the third period.
The Bruins hadn't lost three consecutive games all season until this series. The Islanders lost Game 3 in overtime and won the next three matchups to close out the series.
Here's how Game 6 unfolded.
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FINAL SCORE: Islanders 6, Bruins 2
SERIES: Islanders win 4-2
HIGHLIGHTS
The Islanders opened the scoring when Travis Zajac found a loose puck in front of the net and shot it past B's goalie Tuukka Rask.
Islanders fans are having fun with Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy's "New York Saints" comments from Monday night.
Back-to-back power plays yielded the tying goal for the B's in the first period. Brad Marchand took a great pass from David Pastrnak and beat Islanders goalie Semyon Varlamov.
A brutal turnover by B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk gave Brock Nelson a breakaway and he beat Rask to regain the lead for the Islanders.
A poor play with the puck by Rask turns into another goal for Nelson, who gave the Islanders a 3-1 edge.
Another turnover. Another goal for the Islanders.
The Bruins' power play was excellent in this series, and it scored again in the third period thanks to Brad Marchand.
The Islanders sealed the win with two empty-net goals.
UP NEXT
The Bruins' season is over. The Islanders will play the Tampa Bay Lightning in the semifinals. Those two teams met in the Eastern Conference Final last season. The Lightning eliminated the Islanders en route to a Stanley Cup title.
