NEW YORK _ Nothing went right for the Islanders.
And the Bruins' dominant play was only part of the problem.
The Islanders were outworked in every phase on the ice and outshot by a three-to-one ratio as they fell out of first place in the Metropolitan Division with a 5-0 loss on Tuesday night before a sellout crowd of 13,917 at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum.
But just as invaluable fourth-line center Casey Cizikas returned from a two-game absence because of a lower-body strain and goalie Robin Lehner made his first start in seven games, missing the first three of those to a head injury, the Islanders lost two forwards. Third-line center Valtteri Filppula and fourth-line right wing Cal Clutterbuck both left the game with upper-body injuries.
The Islanders (42-24-7), who had a season-low 13 shots on goal, were shut out for the third time and suffered their worst loss since a 5-0 loss to the Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Nov. 21.
"They're a good team," Islanders coach Barry Trotz said of the Bruins. "Structurally, they're really sound."
As the Islanders were being dominated, the Capitals moved two points ahead in the division by beating the Devils.
To cap the demoralizing night, the remaining Boston fans loudly chanted "Let's Go Bruins" after Jake DeBrusk came out of the penalty box and was sprung for a breakaway goal to make it 5-0 at 10:20 of the third period.
Lehner, only at fault on the first goal, made 34 saves after serving as Thomas Greiss' backup the previous three games.
Tuukka Rask, not forced into any truly difficult saves, got his fourth shutout and the 45th of his career for the Bruins (44-20-9) who swept the three-game season series from the Islanders.
The Islanders spent the bulk of the first period skating on their heels in their own zone as they were outshot 14-2. Neither of those shots came from their forwards as Ryan Pulock took a blue-line slap shot at 2:34 and Thomas Hickey launched a long-range wrist shot at 16:39.
Filppula also exited after being checked hard into the glass behind the Bruins' crease at 10:26, appearing to favor his left arm as he went to the Islanders' room.
Defenseman Nick Leddy's turnover along the right boards in the Islanders' zone led to Sean Kuraly's goal from the right circle at 1:12 as the Bruins took a 1-0 lead on their second shot, with Long Beach's Charlie McAvoy getting the assist. The short-side shot appeared to be going wide before it deflected in off Lehner's glove as he failed to snag the puck.
Matt Martin, a solid 6-foot-3, 220 pounds but undersized in this case, tried to ignite the Islanders by fighting 6-9, 250-pound Zdeno Chara off the second period's opening faceoff. His teammates were appreciative, but there was no response.
The Bruins took a 2-0 lead at 2:52 of the second period as Cal Clutterbuck overskated the puck deep in the Islanders' zone and Noel Acciari swooped in to beat Lehner.
Clutterbuck joined Filppula in the Islanders' room after leaving the ice at 12:31 after going hard into the boards with defenseman John Moore. And Cizikas was in pain on the bench to end the second period after blocking Moore's shot with his hand, though he did not miss time.
Kuraly's second goal at 16:17 of the second period made it 3-0 as he outworked Josh Bailey to get off a shot in the slot off Danton Heinen's feed following his forechecking efforts behind the crease.
Patrice Bergeron made it 4-0 off the rush at 6:32 of the third period as Hickey overskated the puck on a shaky Islanders' line change.
