Bruins 4, Islanders 2: Captain Zdeno Chara scored to snap a tie with just under 13 minutes remaining in the third period as host Boston recorded its eighth win in 10 outings versus New York.
Fourth-liner Shawn Thornton, Gregory Campbell and Patrice Bergeron all scored their first goals of the season for Boston. Rookie Dougie Hamilton added a pair of assists and Tuukka Rask turned aside 24 shots as the Bruins improved to 3-0-0 at home.
Keith Aucoin recorded his first career two-goal game and fellow Massachusetts native Rick DiPietro made his season debut and finished with 23 saves for the Islanders.
With the game tied at 2-2, the Bruins cycled the puck behind the net before Nathan Horton sent a centering pass to Chara in the high slot. The hulking defenseman hesitated before firing a wrist shot past a screened DiPietro for his first goal of the season.
Bergeron provided insurance with 6:27 remaining after accepting a cross-ice breakout pass from Hamilton before skating in and tucking the puck past the outstretched pad of DiPietro.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Claude Julien moved into a tie for third place on the Bruins' all-time coaching wins list. Julien and Don Cherry have 231 victories apiece. ... Boston went 0-for-3 on the power play to drop to 1-for-17 this season. ... Bruins D Dennis Seidenberg returned after a two-game absence with a lower-body injury. He had a team-high four blocked shots.
NY Islanders | Boston | |
Keith Aucoin 2 | Points | Dougie Hamilton 2 |
Keith Aucoin 2 | Goals | Patrice Bergeron 1 |
Colin McDonald 1 | Assists | Dougie Hamilton 2 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Rick DiPietro .852 | Save Percentage | Tuukka Rask .923 |
Rick DiPietro 23 | Saves | Tuukka Rask 24 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
NY Islanders | 26 | 2 | 0-3 | 3-3 | 13 | 23 |
Boston | 27 | 4 | 0-3 | 3-3 | 23 | 36 |