Long Islanders Do To The Boston Bruins What The Rangers Could Not

From the desks: LONG ISLAND NOMADS & RAISE GRESCHNER WITH THE GREATS

BRUINS CENTERMEN: 55 points

Islanders Centermen: 41 points

Rangers Centermen: 20 points

In the week that was, Boston defeated the Rangers in successive games to win their fourth and fifth straight.  The Bruins then take on the Islanders and get stopped cold in their tracks.  One needn't look very far for the reasons why.  

The Islanders have scoring threats up the middle, and the Rangers do not.  Whereas the Rangers mustered three goals in two games against the Bruins, the Islanders posted four goals in just one tilt.

Against the Bruins, Mike Zibanejad skated 21:49 minutes on Wednesday with four shots on goal and no points, then skated for 24:21 minutes on Friday, managing zero shots on goal.  Overall, through two games against Boston, the position of center generated 18 shots on goal but just one point on a goal by Kevin Rooney.  Six of those shots were from Ryan Strome in Wednesday's game.  However, on Friday, Strome and Zibanejad joined for just one shot on goal.  The Rangers centermen accounted for only four shots on Friday, whereas the Bruins centermen accounted for 14 shots.  Overall, Boston centers generated two points (on an assist by Patrice Bergeron and a goal by Brad Marchand) on 23 shots on goal.

SATURDAY

Bruins       2

Islanders  4

FINAL

On Saturday, Brad Marchant and Patrice Bergeron each recorded a goal and an assist.  At 11:36 of the first period, Jean-Gabriel Pageau tied the game at one with his third goal of the season.  At 5:30 of the third period, Mathew Barzal scored on a power play giving the Islanders a 3-2 lead.  Jean-Gabriel Pageau then capped off the scoring with a short-handed goal at 14:32, giving the Islanders a 4-2 final margin of victory.  In the Islanders' first encounter against the Bruins back on Jan. 18, Jean-Gabriel Pageau scored the only goal of the game at 15:51 of the third period.  Unlike Tex's Rangers, Long Islander centermen in two games against the Bruins generated 22 shots on goal with three goals and two assists.

Ryan Strome is the Rangers' top-scoring centerman with four goals and two assists.  Mike Zibanejad continues to lag with just one goal and two assists through 13 games.  Mathew Barzal leads the Islanders with 14 points on six goals and eight assists.  Jean-Gabriel Pageau is next in with four goals and three assists.  Three of the Islanders' top four scorers are centermen whereas no centerman breaks the top three for the Rangers; Strome is the team's fourth-leading scorer.