National Hockey League
Boston 4, NY Islanders 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Wednesday, January 18, 2023
Where: UBS Arena, Elmont, New York
Referees: Wes McCauley, Francois St. Laurent
Linesmen: Dan Kelly, Libor Suchanek
Attendance: 17255

Charlie McAvoy and Derek Forbort scored the tying and go-ahead goals in a span of 3:12 around the middle of the second period Wednesday night for the visiting Boston Bruins, who went on to beat the skidding New York Islanders 4-1 in Elmont, N.Y.

Brad Marchand and Trent Frederic added goals in the third for the Bruins, who have won three straight since a 3-0 loss to the Seattle Kraken on Jan. 12 -- Boston's only regulation loss in its last 18 games (14-1-3).

Goaltender Linus Ullmark made 25 saves for the Bruins, who have an NHL-high 74 points.

Zach Parise scored in the first for the Islanders, who are 2-5-2 this month. The loss Wednesday dropped New York out of a tie for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who lost to the Ottawa Senators, 5-4, in overtime.

Goalie Semyon Varlamov recorded 20 saves for the Islanders.

The Islanders scored first for the fourth straight game with 4:19 left in the opening period. Jean-Gabriel Pageau skated up the right side and passed to Sebastian Aho in the neutral zone.

Aho skidded to a stop at the goal line, momentarily shedding McAvoy, before he passed beyond the reach of David Pastrnak to Parise, whose shot from just above the left faceoff circle sailed beyond Ullmark's glove.

McAvoy, who was whistled for high sticking late in the first, got some redemption by collecting the tying goal with 12:12 left in the second period. Matt Grzelcyk skated around the back of the net and deked several times before passing from the right faceoff circle to McAvoy. In one motion, the native of nearby Long Beach, N.Y., received the pass and delivered a shot that bounced off the pads of Varlamov and into the net.

Forbort pounced on a loose puck in the crease to score the go-ahead goal with 9:00 left. Varlamov appeared to get a piece of Pavel Zacha's shot from the slot before the puck bounced off him and began trickling beyond the goal line. With Varlamov scrambling to find the puck and push it out away from danger, Forbort nudged it into the net.

Aho was whistled for tripping Marchand to set up the power play that yielded Marchand's insurance goal 5:03 into the third. Marchand went to one knee upon taking a pass from Pastrnak and beat Varlamov with a slap shot from the right faceoff circle.

Frederic scored from point-blank range with 4:22 left.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Boston   NY Islanders
Charlie McAvoy 2 Points Zach Parise 1
Charlie McAvoy 1 Goals Zach Parise 1
Charlie Coyle 2 Assists Sebastian Aho 1
Brad Marchand 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Linus Ullmark .962 Save Percentage Semyon Varlamov .833
Linus Ullmark 25 Saves Semyon Varlamov 20
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 24 4 1-4 6-6 14 32
NY Islanders 26 1 0-6 3-4 8 19
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Buffalo. The Islanders have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against NY Rangers. The Bruins have a W/L % of .735 after a win and 1.000 after a loss.