ISLES AMONG TOP TEAMS IN NOVEMBER
The Islanders have been dominant in the month of November, as their eight wins are tied with three other teams for second-most in the NHL. The Colorado Avalanche and the Minnesota Wild have a league-best nine wins.
SEASON SERIES
The Islanders trail the Bruins 0-1-1 this season after they dropped a 5-2 decision at TD Garden on Oct. 28 and fell 4-3 in a shootout on Nov. 4 at home.
ACROSS THE ICE
The Bruins will face the Islanders in the final game of a four-game road trip, where they are 1-2-0 so far. The Bruins are in fourth place in the Atlantic Division with 26 points this season.
Marco Sturm is in his first season behind the Bruins’ bench, serving as the 14th former Boston player to be named as the team’s head coach. Sturm suited up in the black and gold for 302 games, tallying 106 goals and 87 assists for 193 points. He is now trying to head the Bruins back to the playoffs after the team missed them last season.
Both David Pastrňák and Morgan Geekie are on three-game point streaks. Geekie has five points (4G, 1A), while Pastrňák has an assist in each game over that span. With 17 goals on the season, Geekie is tied with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the league lead. Pastrnak racked up 29 points (11G, 18A) this season, which ranks seventh in the NHL.
The Bruins power play (25.6%) ranks fourth in the NHL and their power play on the road converts at 29.0%, which also ranks fourth in the league. Over the last five games, they have converted on four of their last 16 power play opportunities.
Boston also owns the NHL’s 10th-best face-off percentage, winning 52.5% of their draws.
The Bruins are 5-7-0 on the road this season, allowing 3.50 goals against per game on the road.
