It looked as if the Boston Bruins were going to win their third straight game on Wednesday night, but defensive breakdowns haunted them again resulting in a 5-4 overtime loss.

The Black and Gold took a 4-2 lead into the third period, but couldn’t extend their lead any further while Claude Giroux scored two goals including the game-winner in overtime to lift the Flyers to the improbable win.

Patrice Bergeron did all that he could on one hour of sleep as he was playing after the birth of his son. Bergeron scored his league leading fourth power-play goal and added an assist as well.

Tuukka Rask continued to struggle falling to 1-3-1 on the year stopping 32 of 37 shots, but the net-minder can’t be blamed for turnovers in his own end that have left him out to dry. Rask did record a 2-0-0 record against the Islanders last season with a 1.50 goals against average so maybe this will get him going. The B’s still remain winless at home and it’s another great opportunity to grab two points away from TD Garden as they head to Brooklyn to face off against the Islanders.

After injuring himself “getting out of bed” and missing Wednesday’s contest against the Flyers, Matt Beleskey flew to New York with the team and is a game-time decision tonight.

The Islanders enter Friday’s contest red-hot, winners of four straight including Tuesday’s shutout of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

Boston Bruins Tickets

Gametime: 7:30 PM
Records: Bruins 2-3-1 (7 points), Islanders 4-1-1 (9 points)
TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Location: TD Garden

Bruins’ projected lines

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Loui Eriksson
Brett Connolly-David Krejci-David Pastrnak
Jimmy Hayes-Ryan Spooner-Chris Kelly
Zac Rinaldo-Joonas Kemppainen-Tyler Randell

Zdeno Chara-Kevan Miller
Torey Krug-Adam McQuaid
Tommy Cross-Colin Miller

Tuukka Rask
Jonas Gustavsson

Islanders’ projected lines

Anders Lee-John Tavares-Ryan Strome
Josh Bailey-Frans Nielsen-Kyle Okposo
Nikolay Kulemin-Mikhail Grabovski-Brock Nelson
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Cal Clutterbuck

Nick Leddy-Johnny Boychuk
Calvin de Haan-Travis Hamonic
Thomas Hickey-Marek Zidlicky

Jaroslav Halak
Thomas Greiss

Matchup to watch: Islanders offense against Bruins struggling defense

Adam McQuaid and the Bruins defense will face their toughest challenge yet against a Islanders team who has scored 16 times in their last four games. (Photo credit: Joe Makarski/Bruins Daily)

It is no secret that the B’s are having difficulty keeping the puck out of their own net. The Black and Gold are usually known for their defense, but in 2015 it’s been a weakness. Over the past six games, Claude Julien’s team has allowed an astonishing 26 goals. Rask has not been himself, but neither has the defensive group in front of him including the forwards.

On the other side of things, the Islanders have won four straight games and are having no issues putting the puck in the net. In those four games, they have lit the lamp 18 times, scoring at least four goals in all four wins. The Isles average 3.50 goals per game compared to the B’s 3.67 goals per game, but the outlier here is the B’s 4.33 goals against average while Halak and the Isles give up 2.50 goals per game. Will the B’s have a 60 minute defensive effort or will the Isles keep on rolling at home?

Storyline to watch: See if the Bruins can limit mental mistakes

David Pastrnak’s struggles of late have been front and center as he was “called out” by head coach Claude Julien after Wednesday’s loss to the Flyers. (Photo credit: Joe Makarski/Bruins Daily)

It was evident in the Flyers game that the B’s were making a number of mistakes that were leading to scoring opportunities and even goals. Turnovers in the neutral zone, turnovers in your own end behind your net and sometimes not sticking to what the system asks of you. One player that was in Julien’s dog house was Pastrnak. While Julien was calling out his team, it was evident his frustrations came from Pastrnak’s performance on the ice.

“It’s about respecting the game, more than just scoring goals and there’s a learning curve there,” Julien said after his team’s 5-4 OT loss to the Flyers. “There’s also a respect factor there that, you’ve got to understand that there’s more to the game than just trying to be flashy. He had a tough night. You’re going to see him get better nights down the road, but he’s certainly not a single guy to point out.”

The B’s will need to play nearly a perfect game against the Isles. Not only are they a great team at home, they limit their mistakes which results in two points each night. Let’s see if the B’s can follow suit.