Every time someone hollers that the Islanders’ perch atop the East Division is fueled by victories over the sad-sack Buffalo Sabres, a bemused party guest observes that they’ve done pretty well against the NBC Approved Contender Boston Bruins, too.
So it continued again last night, as the Islanders notched their fourth, hard-fought win over the Bruins in four tries.
By the scoreboard, this was the closest meeting yet, with the Islanders only getting a second standings point via shootout skills contest. But all of them have been tied going into the third, and this one reached that state when the Isles cashed in on a late second period power play thanks to Brad Marchand misunderstanding and jumping Oliver Wahlstrom, or just being Brad Marchand.