Bruins center Brad Marchand, center, is dumped to the ice by Islanders right wing Kyle Palmieri, left, and defenseman Scott Mayfield, right, in the first period of a game May 10 in Boston. Credit: AP / Elise Amendola
In their first round playoff victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins, one of the keys for the Islanders’ was the ability to limit the Penguins’ Sidney Crosby to a single goal and a single assist in the series.
Crosby’s linemates, Bryan Rust and Jake Guentzel, had a combined three goals and two assists, meaning the Penguins’ top line combined for four goals and three assists in the six games of the series, or about half of what the Boston Bruins’ top line of Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak did in their team’s first-round win over the Washington Capitals.