BOSTON — The Boston Bruins opened an important home weekend with a tough 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders Saturday night.
Hours after members of the NFL-champion Patriots dropped the ceremonial first puck, right winger Loui Eriksson scored his 12th goal of the season with 7:34 left to snap a 1-1 tie.
The Bruins, who host rival Montreal on Sunday night, improved to 10-2-4 over their last 16 games, 4-1-1 in their last six.
The win, which ended a three-game home losing streak for the Bruins against the Islanders, moved Boston to within one point of the New York Rangers for the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference — New York with two games in hand.
Eriksson, his back to the net, sent a rebound of center Carl Soderberg’s shot past former Boston goaltender Chad Johnson, soon after Boston had wasted a power-play chance.
Center Patrice Bergeron scored his 14th goal of the season for the Bruins, who traded first-period power play goals with New York — center John Tavares scoring his 24th to tie the game for the Isles.
Tuukka Rask made 39 saves for the win.
Johnson played well, stopping 34 shots as the Islanders dropped to 1-4 since losing right winger Kyle Okposo to an eye injury.
The teams both scored quickly on their first-period power plays.
The Islanders took the lead on Tavares’ 15th point in the last 14 games as he slammed home a rebound. It gave the Isles one power-play goal in seven of their last nine games.
The Boston power play was just 2 of 18 over the previous eight games before striking against the league’s 30th-ranked penalty killing unit in the league, to tie the game 4:06 after New York had taken the lead. Bergeron was stopped from the slot, but Islander winger Michael Grabner cleared the puck right back to him and he scored his third in the last four games.
Bruins defenseman Torey Krug, who engaged in a first-period fight with center Ryan Strome, left the game in the second after a heavy hit against the boards by right winger Cal Clutterbuck. Krug got to his feet but had to be helped down the runway to the dressing room. However, he was quickly back on the bench and then back on the ice.
Then, in the third period, Islander defenseman Calvin de Haan went down soon after coming out of the penalty box. He left the ice under his own power and went directly to the dressing room with 7:45 left.
NOTES: When asked about the Islanders before the game, Bruins coach Claude Julien said, “They’re the real deal, I don’t care what anybody says … good skill, good speed, defensively they’ve solidified themselves.” … Boston.com reported Bruins captain Zdeno Chara acquired his Realtor’s license during his recent injury absence. … Members of the New England Patriots, led by TE Rob Gronkowski, dropped the first puck before Gronkowski spiked the puck into the crowd. … Rookie G Malcolm Subban, still waiting to make his NHL debut, didn’t get the start Saturday night and isn’t likely to play against his brother P.K. and the Canadiens on Sunday. … New York D Lubomir Visnovsky was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … Phoenix Coyotes GM Don Maloney, who has all kinds of players to trade to contending clubs, was among the scouts in the press box.