Isles take 3-2 series lead with Game 5 win over Boston

In Boston, Semyon Varlamov made 40 saves and the New York Islanders took a 3-2 series on Monday night off a 5-4 win over the Bruins in Game 5.

Brock Nelson scored in the third period to seemingly make an ostentatious display of offense in giving the Isles a 5-2 lead.

New York needed that goal as the Bruins rallied with two goal in the third to make it tight over the final minutes of the frame.

Game 6 is on Long Island on Wednesday.

“We’ll be ready to go. No doubt in my mind we’ll be ready to go,” Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy said. “We were, I thought, the better team tonight. It didn’t show on the scoreboard.

“Again, we’ve got to fix some things. Obviously, our PK. [Brandon] Carlo and [Kevan] Miller (two injured defensemen) eat up a lot of those minutes. We miss them back there. We had some breakdowns we need to correct. Guys don’t have their abilities on it, but we’ve got to coach them up, make sure they’re better. That’s what’s in front of us that sticks out right now. Obviously, some 5-on-5 things, but I thought 5-on-5 we were dominant. But the PK let us down and we’ve got to get better at it.”

Mathew Barzal, Josh Bailey and Jordan Eberle collected a goal and two points apiece for the Islanders in the win.

“I feel like our power play’s been pretty consistent through these playoffs,” Barzal said. “It’s helped us in a lot of games, whether it’s taking the lead or getting us back in the games, so we’re just trying to take what’s there. Obviously, Boston’s got a great PK, and so did [the] Pittsburgh [Penguins] (in the first round). It’s just a matter of bearing down on your chances and then shoot when you get a lane.”

David Pastrnak struck for two goals for the Bruins.

“I wish we would’ve had five, 10 more minutes to tie it,” Pastrnak said. “It’s frustrating, but you know, we’ve got to let it go and the main focus is to get ready for Game 6. I think we’ve been the better team, but it just didn’t go our way today. So just let it go and refocus.”

Kyle Palmieri also scored for New York.

“I think ‘Varly’ did a good job weathering the storm for us,” Bailey said. “We just had to hang in there. I thought we turned the game around as it went on, and then late, they’ve got a good team. They pushed hard, the crowd was into it. Ultimately, we found a way to get the win and give ourselves an opportunity here back at home.”

New York went 3-for-4 on the power play; the Bruins struck once in two chances.

David Krejci and Brad Marchand also scored for Boston. Tuukka Rask got the start for Boston and surrendered four goals and made 12 saves through two periods of play.

“There was maintenance that needed to be done,” Cassidy said. “He wasn’t 100 percent, so we made a decision. That’s the call we had to make between periods. Let’s just say he wasn’t himself. 100 percent. Certainly, he could’ve went back in. We made a decision not to put him back in.”

Jeremy Swayman iced the third period made two saves.