BOSTON -- This time, the New York Islanders figured out a way to hang on and win.

Thanks in large part to Thomas Greiss.

The goaltender faced 50 shots and stopped 48 -- both career highs -- as his team ended a five-game losing streak by holding off a third-period Boston charge and trimming the Bruins 4-2 Tuesday night.

"They were shooting pucks from everywhere," Greiss said after the game. "You just go shot by shot, it keeps you in your rhythm. Special teams were huge tonight."

The Islanders, 0-4-1 in the five games after a 5-0-1 streak, got two goals -- one an insurance goal on the power play -- and an assist from Anders Lee and two assists from Josh Bailey. But the story was Greiss, who had 95 shots directed his way, two of them hitting the crossbar in the second period.

"He did a heck of a job," said Bailey. "Sometimes the timely saves are the ones you need most. It gives the guys a boost."

The biggest save was on David Krejci with 9:28 left -- after a 3-0 lead had melted to 3-2.

"It's too late to start playing the way we should be playing for the full game. I guess, we got back in the game and that was a good third period," said Boston's Patrice Bergeron. "But that being said, it was way too little too late."

New York (12-14-6) chased Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask with three goals on 13 shots through the 6:18 mark of the second period. Anton Khudobin allowed the final goal and assisted on one of his team's scores.

The Bruins (17-14-3) lost for the fourth time in five home games (three of the losses to last-place teams) and saw their five-game winning streak against the Islanders end. They are just 8-9-0 at home.

"It's too big of a hole, but it's a hole we dug in ourselves, and to me, it's not acceptable," said Bruins coach Claude Julien.

The first Islanders goal came after Rask and teammate Brad Marchand collided behind the net, the third when Kevan Miller won a foot race down the ice but missed the puck coming off the boards -- Rask not covering the post and allowing the knockout goal.

Down 3-0, the Bruins got goals from Anton Blidh -- his first in the NHL -- and Dominic Moore in the first 7:12 of the third period to get the fans into the game for the first time.

However, Lee, who has 14 points in the past 14 games, stuffed a power-play rebound of his own deflected shot past Khudobin with 6:58 remaining.

Greiss, one of three goalies the Islanders are using, was the victim of a bad bounce on the first goal, which went in off the skate of New York defenseman Nick Leddy. The second goal was a tip-in as Greiss improved to 7-5 on the season.

Nikolay Kulemin and Thomas Hickey scored the other Islanders goals.

The Islanders had been outscored 11-0 in the third periods of their losing streak, and that stat grew to 13-0 before Lee scored.

Rask fell to 16-6-3 on the season and to 10-4-0 lifetime against the Islanders. Khudobin made 15 saves on the 16 shots he faced.

Islanders coach Jack Capuano paired former Bruins Johnny Boychuk and Dennis Seidenberg on defense, and the veteran duo played a strong game -- Boychuk with an assist on the third New York goal and both providing their usual toughness.

Both were a plus-2 while Seidenberg had six hits, Boychuk two and Boychuk blocked a shot.

"It was kind of a surprise that we got paired up, we were talking about different pairs," said Seidenberg. "We didn't know that it was going to happen but I mean it was good."

As far as the win, he said: "It was big, especially after coming off of five losses in a row. Winning this game tonight was big, especially in the third period, trying to hold on to a win, or getting the win after giving up a tie or an upset.

"Hopefully this is a right step in the right direction and we build on that."

NOTES: The game marked the TD Garden return of long-time Bruins D Dennis Seidenberg, who won the Stanley Cup with Boston in 2011 -- as did fellow Islanders D Johnny Boychuk. Both were cheered when announced as starters pregame, starting the game together. Seidenberg was then treated to a video tribute during a first-period break. ... The Islanders entered the game leading the NHL with 586 blocked shots, Calvin de Haan leading the way with 87. ... The teams entered the game with two of the three worst power plays in the league, the Bruins 28th and New York 30th -- and the Bruins went 0-for-3, slipping to 2-for-35 in the last 12 games. ... The Bruins open a four-game road trip at Florida Thursday and play nine of their next 11 games on the road, while the Islanders are home for the next two, starting with the Buffalo Sabres in Brooklyn Friday night.