Boston enjoys “reaction” in Win vs. Islanders

The Boston Bruins stayed committed despite the hurdles thrown their way in Wednesday night’s battle against the New York Islanders.

Boston took two leads in the first and second periods against New York, leaving the Bruins to show their resilience and poise. It would have taken just one goal to eliminate the Islanders, but Boston had other plans and posted an impressive three-goal performance en route to a 6-3 win at UBS Arena.

“We kept playing,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco said, as seen in NESN’s postgame coverage. “…The second third got away from us a little bit, self-inflicted – some of the mistakes we made. But to show the resilience that we showed in the third game and just stick to the game plan. Luckily we found a few more at the back of the net. It’s not an easy game, is it? It’s a stroke of luck and I thought our guys had a great response in the third period.”

Brad Marchand gave Boston the biggest lead possible, scoring two goals in the first nine minutes of the night. That didn’t hold up, however, and Morgan Geekie didn’t score in the second half, giving the Bruins a 3-2 lead. So Boston had no choice but to hold on and maintain focus.

Marchand revealed a little about what counted second during the second intermission.

“Just had to be better in the details,” Marchand said, according to NESN’s postgame coverage. “That is the success we have had recently and will always have. That has always been the foundation of this team: the execution of the details and the commitment to the structure. We got away a little bit in the second, but did a great job in the third.”

Pavel Zacha was inspired by Marchand’s performance in the first period and scored two goals of his own, sparking a three-pointer in the final period and burying New York. It was more than enough, but spoke volumes about what the Bruins can unfold in the future. Boston, now 11-10-3, enters Thanksgiving with the satisfying taste of a 4-1 start under Sacco’s leadership.

Here are more notes from Wednesday night’s game between the Bruins and Islanders:

– Marchand’s multi-goal performance was his 64th in a Bruins uniform, putting the 36-year-old ahead of Rick Middleton and tied with teammate David Pastrnak for the fourth-most goals in team history.

“He was ready to play tonight,” Sacco said, according to NESN. “You can see that he won battles. He was just ready to go and that’s what you expect from (No.) 63.”

— Zacha scored two goals after totaling three goals in his first 23 games this season.

“It was a good game,” Zacha said, according to NESN’s postgame coverage. “We took over in the third period. I think we just played the same game and created chances and it paid off today.”

– Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo made 21 saves in the win over the Islanders, giving the 30-year-old a 4-0-1 record with a .933 save percentage and two shutouts in his last five appearances.

— Boston’s six goals were the most scored since the team’s season opener (six) against the Florida Panthers on Oct. 8 and the first time the Bruins scored at least five goals at even strength.

– The Bruins will return to action on Friday night, hosting the Pittsburgh Penguins (8-12-4) at TD Garden. Puck drop is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on TNT.