Through 20 minutes of play on Tuesday night, and coming off an ugly 7-2 loss to Ottawa the night before, things were looking pretty rough for the Bruins.

But powered by a second-period takeover, and a ‘magical’ mindset, the Bruins rallied for a 5-2, bounce-back win over the Islanders at TD Garden.

“I still felt good. It wasn’t the stop we wanted, no, but I felt good for some reason,” Bruins head coach Marco Sturm admitted of his team rallying from an 0-2 hole after the first period. “Because the guys were dialed in. They gave me everything they had in the first period. And the message was, ‘We just saw that script. We’ve just been through it with Colorado.’ They did the same thing and we stuck with it in the second period and that’s exactly what happened.” 

Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…

3rd Star: David Pastrnak

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 23: David Pastrnak #88 of the Boston Bruins looks on during the first period of the game against the Anaheim Ducks at TD Garden. (Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)

When the Bruins took this game over in the second period, the comeback was really started by David Pastrnak, who had an assist on Boston’s first goal of the evening, and then scored the game-tying goal for the Bruins.

This was one of those nights where you felt like Pastrnak was going to make something happen every time the puck was on his stick.

2nd Star: Charlie McAvoy

Oct 25, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy (73) during the first period against the Colorado Avalanche at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson-Imagn Images)

It has not been the start to the season that the Bruins nor Charlie McAvoy envisioned for the franchise’s No. 1 defenseman. But Tuesday night came with McAvoy making his presence known at both ends of the ice.

It was McAvoy who created what ultimately end as the game-winning goal, as he found Mikey Eyssimont’s stick to the left of Ilya Sorokin for an easy tap-in where McAvoy sold shot on goal the whole way. It was one of two assists that McAvoy, who played over 24 minutes in the win, had in the victory. And in the defensive zone, McAvoy finished this contest with a block, a hit, and the Bruins controlling shot attempts at a 17-9 clip with him on the ice at five-on-five play.

1st Star: Joonas Korpisalo

Oct 28, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Islanders center Kyle MacLean (32) looks for a rebound off a save by Bruins goaltender Joonas Korpisalo (70) at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)

It’s scary to think where the Bruins would be without the elite goaltending performances they’ve gotten in their wins this season. In fact, after Joonas Korpisalo’s performance on Tuesday, the Korpisalo-Swayman tandem has now posted a combined .940 save percentage in Boston’s wins this season.

And this was a performance where Korpisalo had to be nails following a rough start that saw him allow two goals on the first three shots of the evening.

Fortunately for the Bruins, Korpisalo was, as he rallied for 32 straight saves in the win. And per NaturalStatTrick.com, Korpisalo went a perfect 11-for-11 on high-danger shots thrown his way.