I’m sure a lot of people were surprised that after “holding serve” at home in Game 4, the New York Islanders were able to venture to TD Garden and put the Boston Bruins in danger of being eliminated from the playoffs.

That is exactly where the Bruins stand as we head into Wednesday night’s Game 6, which is scheduled to get underway at 7:30 PM ET at Nassau Coliseum.

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There have been plenty of standouts for the Islanders on this playoff run, like young Mathew Barzal, who took Game 4 and made it his own, and leads the team with six points in the series.

But what about the desperate Bruins? Who could come up big for them and keep them alive?

Let’s examine some NHL props that handicappers should take a very long look at.

Read our full Bruins vs. Islanders betting report for tonight’s game.

David Pastrnak to Score First Goals (+750)

At this point you would expect that the Bruins are going to turn to the hottest hand they have. And that is David Pastrnak, who led the league in goal-scoring last season and averaged a point a game this year.

During the playoffs, Pastrnak has brought it to a new level. He’s had more shots than anybody (52) and in this particular series he’s tallied five goals in five games.

Pastrnak, who burned the Isles for a hat trick in Game 1, actually scored the first goal of Game 5. That happened before the defense collapsed, which led to goalie Tuukka Rask being pulled after two periods.

For what it’s worth, Boston has scored first in three of the five games thus far. Going with the “First Goal” prop gives you a chance to get a better potential payout with the guy who has produced the most for the Bruins.

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Islanders to Win Period 3 – Three-Way Bet (+185)

In only one of their home games in this postseason have the Islanders scored first at home. That is somewhat strange, since if you look at what they did in what was a dominant home schedule, they outscored the opposition by more than a goal a game and 34-14 in the first period of action.

Yes, while it could be argued that the level of competition has gotten more intense in the playoffs, also consider that the Islanders beat Boston in all four regular season games in Uniondale.

And look at the split! When they were at Nassau Coliseum, they went 15-2 when they got the first goal and 6-5 when they didn’t. Those exact same numbers also apply to whether they held the lead at the end of the third period.

So if Boston lights the scoreboard first, there could be trouble. But note that the Islanders have also owned the third period against their foes. When they are leading after two stanzas, they were 12-1, and such a thing would be understandable. But when they were tied going into the third, they won nine of 11 games.

So if you wanted to cash on a prop like this, you would certainly be relying upon Semyon Varlamov in goal. Varlamov, who had a career-best 2.04 goals-against this season with seven shutouts, has not had numbers as glittering during the postseason, but they have been better than Rask in this series. And he still does have the .925 save percentage, which is A-OK.

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Kyle Palmieri to Score a Goal (+255)

We thought about Mathew Barzal for this prop. After all, he has now scored a goal in three straight games, so you have to imagine he is playing with a lot of confidence right now. And his home splits have been better than they have been as the visitor, and that includes the 14.5% shooting percentage.

But special attention is going to be paid to him. Long Island native Kyle Palmier offers the better play, because he has made the most of his chances in the Islanders’ two series this far, scoring on 28.6% of his chances (that includes three goals on nine shots vs.Boston). After coming over from the New Jersey Devils, Palmieri had only two goals in 17 regular season games. But he’s been more of a force in the playoffs (six goals, 11 games).

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