National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
NY Islanders 3, Boston 1
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, November 2, 2013
Where: Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, New York
Referees: Dennis LaRue, Kyle Rehman
Linesmen: Michel Cormier, Andy McElman
Attendance: 14018

Islanders 3, Bruins 1: Thomas Vanek reached the 500-point plateau of his career after scoring his first goal with his new team and adding an assist as host New York won two in a row for the first time this season.

Captain John Tavares tallied for the second straight night and defenseman Andrew MacDonald netted his first goal of the campaign. Kyle Okposo and blue-liner Travis Hamonic each notched two assists and Kevin Poulin finished with 26 saves for the Islanders, who snapped a four-game winless skid at home (0-3-1).

After skating to a 5-4 shootout victory over Ottawa on Friday, New York opened the scoring 6:15 into the second period as Vanek slapped the puck off the stick of David Krejci in the slot. Chad Johnson (31 saves) made the initial stop, but Tavares batted the rebound out of the air and into the net for his sixth goal.

Tavares also played a role in the Islanders' next goal nearly seven minutes later after winning a faceoff. MacDonald one-timed a shot from just inside the blue line that floated over the glove of Johnson to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead.

Defenseman Dougie Hamilton scored a power-play goal to trim the deficit with 4:33 remaining in the second, but Vanek answered just 41 ticks later. Okposo skated up the right wing before deftly sliding a cross-slot feed to the Austrian, who one-timed a shot from the left circle past Johnson for his fifth goal of the season.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Vanek has torched the Bruins in his career, collecting 30 goals and 29 assists in 51 games. ... The Islanders failed on all three power-play opportunities and are 0-for-13 in their last four contests. ... The Bruins have dropped three of their last four contests.
Top Game Performances
 
Boston   NY Islanders
Dougie Hamilton 1 Points Kyle Okposo 3
Dougie Hamilton 1 Goals Thomas Vanek 1
Reilly Smith 1 Assists Kyle Okposo 3
Dougie Hamilton 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Chad Johnson .912 Save Percentage Kevin Poulin .963
Chad Johnson 31 Saves Kevin Poulin 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Boston 27 1 1-3 3-3 8 35
NY Islanders 34 3 0-3 2-3 8 24
Upcoming Games
  • NY Islanders will play their next game on the road against Washington. The Islanders have a W/L % of .333 after a win and .500 after a loss.
  • Boston will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Bruins have a W/L % of .556 after a win and .750 after a loss.