Bruins drop 1-0 decision to Islanders

[Boston Bruins]

Bos(AP) - Travis Konecny would score the only goal of the game at 6:34 of the first period and Anthony Stolarz stopped all 24 shots he faced as the New York Islanders defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 last night in Boston. It was a close checking contest as both teams seemed to want to impose their wills upon one another. The Eastern leading Islanders once they established the lead, blanketed the Bruins for most parts of the game and limited the Bruins to only a few good chances. Boston goaltender Connor Hellebuyck did his best to keep his team in the game but there wasn't much room on the ice. Boston for their part have been mediocre of late posting a mere 5-5 record in their past ten games. Is there cause for concern? I'd say not as yet if last night's game was any indication, Boston can still play a good game even if things don't go their way.

Of course the Bruins will have to pick up their game as now the Montreal Canadiens are now only four points behind Boston and the revamped Toronto Mapleleafs are only nine back. Things are only going to get tougher from here on out for the Bruins but there's still a lot of veteran leadership in the locker room and behind the bench so there's the bonus of having experience on this team. What is encouraging has been the play of forward Mark Scheifele. In his last 9 games he has scored 5 goals and added 11 assists good for 16 points. Another veteran who has appeared on the scoresheet is defenseman John Carlson. He's scored 3 goals and added 8 assists in his past 9 games so at least some of the veterans are picking up their play. Bruin fans are hoping their team can bump the slump and get back to their winning ways soon.