Greiss has 48 saves, Lee scores 2, Islanders beat Bruins 4-2 (Dec 20, 2016)
BOSTON (AP) Thomas Greiss stopped nearly everything for the New York Islanders, including their five-game winless streak.
Greiss stopped 48 of the 50 shots he faced - both career highs - and the Islanders beat the Boston Bruins 4-2 Tuesday night for the club's first victory in almost two weeks.
''They were shooting pucks from everywhere,'' said Greiss, who was able to preserve New York's lead after two quick goals by Boston early in the third period pulled the Bruins to 3-2. ''You just go shot by shot. It keeps you in your rhythm.''
The Bruins outshot the Islanders 50-29, but could not rally from a 3-0 deficit against the team stuck at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
Anders Lee scored two goals for the Islanders and assisted on another. Thomas Hickey and Nikolay Kulemin also scored for the Islanders in their first win since beating St. Louis on Dec. 8. New York was outscored 24-12 while going 0-4-1 in the five games since.
''It's really important. I mean that's a good team over there and we knew we had to play a good road game tonight,'' Lee said. ''Although we fell a little bit in the third, we were able to hold strong and finish it up.''
Lee got the Islanders started with an unassisted goal 3:05 into the game after Boston goalie Tuukka Rask and forward Brad Marchand collided behind the net. Lee grabbed the puck and tucked it around the post for his 11th goal of the season, then added an assist on Hickey's goal at 5:40 that put New York up 2-0.
Lee added a power-play goal 13:02 into the third to restore the two-goal cushion and the Islanders held on for just their third road win of the season.
Greiss took a shutout into the third period and was able to hold off the Bruins after they pulled to 3-2 on goals by Anton Blidh and Dominic Moore. Blidh's goal 3:04 into the third was the first of his career and Moore scored at 7:12.
''He played good and I thought we did a good job letting him see the puck,'' Islanders coach Jack Capuano said. ''He did the job for us on the penalty kill as well. So you know for me he was obviously a big key for our victory here tonight.''
Boston went scoreless in three power-play opportunities. The Bruins lost for the fourth time in their last five at home, and now play nine of their next 11 on the road.
''It's too late to start playing the way we should be playing for the full game. We got back in the game and it was a good third period, but that being said it was too little too late,'' Boston center Patrice Bergeron said. ''The goals they got were basically from our plays and the mistakes we made.''
Rask started in goal for Boston but was pulled after Kulemin's goal 6:18 into the second period gave New York a 3-0 lead.
Rask allowed three goals on just 13 shots, though the third goal took a funny bounce off the end boards and bounced right to Kulemin, who poked it between Rask's pad and the post. Anton Khudobin stopped 15 of 16 shots in relief.
The goalie change did seem to get the Bruins' attention. Boston played much of the rest of the second in New York's zone and continued to pressure the Islanders throughout the third as the Bruins got 23 shots on goal.
''What you saw in the third period, I don't know why we don't bring that in the first. We wait until we're in a hole,'' Boston coach Claude Julien said. ''Somehow we've got to find that. It's not good enough and we know that we struggle to score goals. Let's be ready to play.''
NOTES: Greiss' previous career highs came in October 2015 when he stopped 44 of 47 shots by Nashville. ... RW David Pastrnak, who leads Boston with 19 goals, missed his second straight game after having surgery on his right elbow Friday. The Bruins said Pastrnak will be re-evaluated on a day-to-day basis. ... Blidh made his NHL debut on Dec. 6 against Buffalo and scored his first career goal in his seventh game. ... New York D Dennis Seidenberg played his first game back in Boston since signing with the Islanders as a free agent Sept. 28. The Bruins welcomed him back with a video tribute in the first period.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Host Buffalo on Friday.
Bruins: At Florida on Thursday in the first of four straight on the road.
