It’s been a long journey for the Boston Bruins. After dropping two of three games in California, the B’s will make the final stop of their four-game road trip when they visit the New York Islanders tonight at UBS Arena. Here’s everything you need to know before puck drop.

Bruins Playing Dangerous Game:

It’s difficult enough as it is to win games in the NHL, and the Bruins aren’t making it any easier on themselves as the league’s most penalized team.

Too Many Penalties Have Bruins Playing A Dangerous Game

Overworked PK Answering Call:

Killing penalties is thankless work. It comes with long shifts, little points, and lots of bruises. That’s even more the case for those doing it for the Bruins. And yet, even with all the extra minutes logged on the PK, Boston still owns the 10th ranked shorthanded unit, all while relying on several players who are new to killing penalties this year.

New Faces Are Answering The Call On Bruins’ Overworked Penalty Kill Unit

Projected Bruins Lines:

Blumel – Zacha – Pastrnak

Khusnutdinov – E. Lindholm – Geekie

Jeannot – Minten – Kastelic

Steeves – Kuraly – Eyssimont

Zadorov – Aspirot

H. Lindholm – Jokiharju

Lohrei – Peeke

Swayman

Korpisalo

Last Time Out:

The numbers will say the Bruins should’ve defeated the San Jose Sharks Sunday night at SAP Center, but there are only two stats that actually matter. The first is 3-1, which was, of course, the final score in favor of the Sharks. The other is seven, which is the amount of penalties the Bruins committed.

Undisciplined Bruins Drop Close Contest To Sharks

The Opponent:

Tonight’s matchup will be the third and final of the season between the Bruins and Islanders, after Boston took the previous two.

It was just a few weeks ago the last time the two teams met. The Bruins stole a pair of points in a come from behind shootout win at UBS Arena that also featured Nikita Zadorov taking shots at both the Islanders’ No. 1 overall draft pick Matthew Schaeffer and their fans.

Schaeffer has come as advertised for the Islanders so far, racking up 15 points with seven goals and eight assists through 23 games. His presence alone has reinvigorated an Islanders franchise that appeared to be stuck in neutral before his arrival.

Under head coach Patrick Roy, the Islanders own a record of 13-8-2 with 28 points, placing them third in the Metropolitan Division standings. New York has won seven of its last 10 games and is coming off a win over the Seattle Kraken its last time out.

Bo Horvat leads the Islanders in scoring with 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points. Ilya Sorokin is expected to start in net against the Bruins and enters play with a record of 7-6-2, a 2.67 goals-against average, and a .905 save percentage.

If the Islanders have one glaring issue, it is their power play. It ranks dead last in the league, having scored on just 13.3 percent of its chances. New York’s penalty kill has been much more effective, operating at an 83.1 percent clip.

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Bruins and Islanders from UBS Arena is set for 7 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on NESN and streamed on NESN 360 or ESPN Plus for out-of-market viewers. 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the radio broadcast.

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