BOSTON _ The Islanders returned to form. And eventually also got the two points.
They topped the Bruins, 3-2, in a shootout on Thursday night at TD Garden in a game heavy on physical, defensive play and short on scoring chances.
It came after the Islanders (23-8-2) fell apart defensively and in net in Tuesday night's 8-3 loss to the Predators at NYCB Live's Nassau Coliseum.
The victory snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bruins dating to a 4-0 victory at TD Garden on Jan. 16, 2017, with Greiss in net.
Semyon Varlamov made 27 saves for the Islanders and sealed the win by turning aside Brad Marchand's attempt in the third round of the shootout after Jordan Eberle and Mathew Barzal scored in the first two rounds.
Tuukka Rask stopped 19 shots for the Bruins (21-7-8), who are in a 1-4-3 skid.
Devon Toews nearly ended it in overtime but the puck rolled off his stick on a breakaway in the waning seconds.
The Islanders were nursing a 2-1 lead when defenseman Adam Pelech was called for high-sticking Marchand at Varlamov's crease and Brock Nelson followed him to the penalty box 44 seconds later for shooting the puck over the glass.
Defenseman Torey Krug converted the five-on-three opportunity with a one-timer from the left circle off David Krejci's feed to tie the game at 2 at 7:24 of the third period.
The third period also featured a truly scary moment as Cal Clutterbuck rushed off the ice to the Islanders' room at 14:47 after being cut by Patrice Bergeron's skate blade, seemingly near his wrist.
Varlamov didn't face many shots in the first two periods but came up with one of his best saves of the season as he sprawled to his left to glove Anders Bjork's wide-open look off the post, keeping the game tied 1-1 at 16:27 of the second period.
"To be honest, I only had a chance to reach with my glove," Varlamov said. "He shot it into my glove. The net was wide open. If he shoots it 10 more times, he scores nine times."
"I think that save was as good as it gets," defenseman Ryan Pulock said. "He's been doing it all year. We know we can rely on him."
He also denied Jake DeBrusk at the crease at 17:57 and the Islanders rewarded their goalie for his play by taking a 2-1 lead at 18:26 as defenseman Johnny Boychuk fed Barzal off the left post.
Boychuk's right-point blast had tied the game at 1-1 at 3:26 of the second period.
The Bruins had taken a 1-0 lead on their first shot of the game at 1:58 of the first period as Charlie Coyle forced a turnover from Pulock and fed Bjork to beat Varlamov.
The play was a nasty reminder of the Islanders' loss to the Predators when they turned the puck over too often and did not get the solid netminding they've been accustomed to from Varlamov and Greiss.
Greiss started on Tuesday and allowed five goals on 15 shots over two periods. Varlamov entered in the third period and gave up goals on the first two shots he faced.
But the physical tone for Thursday's game was set early as the teams combined for just seven shots in the first 20 minutes.
