Moulson Leads the Way in Islanders’ Win at Boston

Prior to this season, Matt Moulson struggled to land a permanent job in the NHL. The 26-year old entered the year with just 29 games worth of NHL experience, while spending the majority of his career in the AHL with the Manchester Monarchs. On July 6th, Moulson’s career changed drastically, as he signed on with the New York Islanders. Now, the North York, ON native is getting top line minutes, playing alongside Calder Trophy favorite John Tavares. On Monday night, Moulson played a big role for the Islanders, scoring a pair of goals in the team’s 4-1 win over the Boston Bruins at the TD Garden.

Monday night’s scoring was started at the six-minute mark of the opening stanza. Patrice Bergeron lost control of the puck in the offensive zone, allowing the Islanders to skate away in the opposite direction. Richard Park came up with the steal, before handing off for Jack Hillen on the right side. Hillen carried the puck deep into the offensive zone, while being pressured by Matt Hunwick. Hunwick forced Hillen beneath the goal line, but prior to skating around the net, Hillen sent a pass to the top of the crease. The pass found the stick of Matt Moulson, who beat Tuukka Rask through the legs.

Midway through the period, the crowd was given some excitement in the form of a fight. Shawn Thornton and Tim Jackman dropped the gloves in a lengthy bout that ultimately went the way of Boston’s tough guy.

The Bruins did a nice job of building off of the fight, as they controlled the latter half of the first period. Freddy Meyer and Jack Hillen picked up consecutive penalties, giving the home team 1:35 of a 5-on-3. Boston came close, but wasn’t able to score with the man advantages. At the end of one period of play, the Islanders had a 1-0 lead, despite being outshot 11-7.

The score stayed that way through most of the second period, until Boston got the equalizer. Freddy Meyer started the breakout deep in his own zone for New York, but his outlet pass failed to connect with a teammate. Instead, David Krejci picked off the pass at the blueline, before skating deep on the left side of the ice. Krejci drove to the net, slipping a backhand pass through the crease to Daniel Paille. Paille’s first shot was stopped by Dwayne Roloson, but the Bruins’ forward continued to work, scoring on his own rebound. John Tavares knocked the net off, forcing the play to be reviewed, but the goal stood, tying the game at one.

A tie game would have been okay for the Bruins after two periods of play, but with 1:11 left, the Islanders had other ideas. John Tavares won a neutral zone face-off back to Bruno Gervais, who wired the puck in around the boards. Tuukka Rask came out to stop the puck behind his cage, before sending a pass in the direction of Zdeno Chara. The pass eluded Chara, bouncing over to Richard Park along the right wing boards. Park immediately centered a pass to Matt Moulson, who had plenty of room to work with on the left side of the goal. He scored, giving New York a 2-1 lead heading into the intermission.

Less than two minutes into the third period, New York extended the lead. Matt Moulson dumped the puck into the offensive zone, hoping to create something. Tuukka Rask left the puck off for Dennis Wideman, who skated out from behind the net. Wideman was instantly pressured by Richard Park, who caused the Boston blueliner to turn the puck over. After making the steal, Park curled around, spotting John Tavares on the right side of the slot. Tavares tried to send a pass across to Matt Moulson, but the puck deflected into the net off of Matt Hunwick’s skate.

The Islanders played a very conservative third period, as they made sure to avoid a repeat performance of their last visit to Boston. With 49 seconds remaining, the visitors iced their win. Frans Nielsen stole the puck in the defensive zone, and proceeded to skate into center ice. After gaining the red line, Nielsen dished a pass over to Trent Hunter, who nailed the empty net.

Dwayne Roloson picked up the win in goal for the Islanders, making 28 saves on 29 shots. Tuukka Rask suffered the loss for the Bruins, allowing three goals on 20 shots.

Looking at the special teams, Boston’s power play did a good job of creating pressure in the Islanders’ zone. However, that didn’t translate to any goals, as the Bruins went 0-for-4. The penalty kill continues to be strong for the B’s, as they kept New York off of the scoreboard on five opportunities.

The Boston Bruins will now get to spend some time away from home, as the team’s next four games will be played on enemy ice. The first of those tilts takes place on Thursday night, when the Bruins visit the Atlanta Thrashers. Boston is hoping to have Milan Lucic in the lineup for that game. The Providence Bruins are off until Friday, when they play host to the Springfield Falcons.

Scoring Summary:
1. NYI Moulson (9) (Hillen, Park) 6:00
2. BOS Paille (2) (Krejci) 14:56
2. NYI Moulson (10) (Park) 18:49
3. NYI Tavares (9) (Park) 1:50
3. NYI Hunter (4) (Nielsen) (EN) 19:11

Penalty Summary:
1. NYI Jackman- Fighting 10:18
1. BOS Thornton- Fighting 10:18
1. BOS Ryder- Holding 11:45
1. NYI Meyer- Tripping 14:45
1. NYI Hillen- Hooking 15:10
2. BOS Paille- Hooking 0:18
2. NYI Moulson- Interference 4:03
2. BOS Recchi- Cross Checking 4:37
2. NYI Bergenheim- Slashing 5:18
2. BOS Begin- Slashing 15:17
3. BOS Krejci- Interference 4:53
3. BOS Bergeron- Hooking 16:44

Goalies:
NYI Dwayne Roloson (6-1-5): 29 shots, 28 saves
BOS Tuukka Rask (3-2-1): 20 shots, 17 saves (1 en)

Shots on Goal:
NYI 7-8-6=21
BOS 11-10-8=29

Power Plays:
NYI 0-for-5
BOS 0-for-4

Three Stars of the Game:
1- NYI Matt Moulson
2- NYI Richard Park
3- BOS David Krejci