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Islanders Advance to Semifinals for Second Straight Year

Bhupender SainiJun 10, 2021Sports
Islanders Advance to Semifinals for Second Straight Year

Two weeks after they won their first-round series before a similarly cacophonous crowd at Nassau Coliseum, the Islanders had a chance for another series-clincher game at home.

They did not disappoint, as the Islanders finished off the Bruins with a 6-2 win in Game 6 of their second-round series.

The Islanders broke a 1-1 tie with three second-period goals, two by Brock Nelson and one by Kyle Palmieri. Semyon Varlamov, who entered play with a .925 goals-against average, had another stellar game with 23 saves. The Islanders added two empty-net goals in the third period.

The Islanders reached the semifinals for a second straight season and will again face Tampa Bay. Last year, the Lightning beat the Islanders in six games before defeating Dallas to win the Stanley Cup.

The 2020 series played out in a bubble environment in Edmonton, Alberta, but this year’s showdown will be the first semifinal on Long Island since 1993. Tampa Bay advanced after beating the Carolina Hurricanes in five games.

“It’s a great opportunity seeing them again in the semifinals,” said Josh Bailey, an Islanders forward who had two assists. “We’re really looking forward to it.”

Travis Zajac opened the scoring at 8 minutes 52 seconds of the first period, putting the puck past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask.

Zajac, 36, who with Palmieri was a late-season acquisition from the Devils, sent the Coliseum crowd into a frenzy with his first goal of the postseason.

Zajac had played his entire career, more than 1,000 games, for the Devils before the trade and had replaced the injured Oliver Wahlstrom in the lineup for the final game of the opening-round series against the Pittsburgh Penguins.