The winning formula for the Bruins this season has been simple. If they give up two or fewer goals, they’ll manage to get at least one more than that.

That’s what happened on Thursday night at the Garden, when they tangled with their bad penny of an opponent in the New York Islanders and managed to pull away in the end. They coughed up a one-goal lead early in the third but then popped in three more to survive the Islanders, 5-2, to improve to 11-1-1. They have not allowed more than two goals in any of their wins.

Charlie Coyle notched his first career hat trick and added an assist for a monster night.

The Bruins came out with some jump and tested Ilya Sorokin early. He was equal to the task. He made a nice toe save on a Jake DeBrusk misdirection shot and then stuffed Trent Frederic on a good chance through the slot.

But it was Frederic who broke the ice at 14:05 of the first. Coyle won a puck in the corner and fed James van Riemsdyk behind the Islander net. Van Riemsdyk had a wide-open passing line up the middle and found Frederic, who beat Sorokin from between the circle tops with a wrist shot over the blocker for his third of the season.

The Islanders, however, counter-attacked in the last five minutes of the period and peppered Linus Ullmark with shots (they wound up with a 15-12 advantage through 20 minutes). With the B’s hemmed in their own end, Frederic took a crosschecking penalty at the side of the crease.

The penalty kill had been tremendous all season – the B’s came into the game having killed 47 of 50 penalties – but they had some uncharacteristic issues with puck management, despite having Derek Forbort back after missing three games. Eventually, Brandon Carlo’s backhand attempt could not clear the zone and Noah Dobson fired a shot that Ullmark blockered into the air. Displaying some great hand-eye coordination, Brock Nelson waited for it to fall below the cross bar and then batted it home at 17:23.

But the B’s got the lead back on a power-play goal of their own at 6:06 of the second. After Matt Poitras drew a holding call on Jean-Gabriel Pageau, Coyle notched his third of the year on a pretty passing play. From out high, David Pastrnak passed it down to Pavel Zacha at the side of the net. Zacha one-touched it to Coyle just below the hash marks in the slot and Coyle buried a one-timer.

The game then got tighter, as games against the Islanders tend to. The Islanders held a 6-5 shot advantage in the second and the B’s took their one-goal lead into the third period.

When the B’s had a chance to create some space with an early third period power play, the coughed up a shorthanded goal at 2:50. Brad Marchand could not control a puck and Simon Holmstrom took off on a 2-on-1 with Pageau. Holmstrom took the return pass and buried it to even it up.

But the B’s shook it off and regained the lead on the same power play just 43 seconds after the Holmstrom goal. With van Riemsdyk parked in his usual spot at the top of the crease, Pastrnak squeaked a wrist shot through Sorokin for his 10th of the season.

Then the B’s stretched the lead to 4-2 at 9:26 on a great effort by Coyle. He kept the puck high along the left wing boards, got it to Frederic and headed for the net. Frederic moved it down to van Riemsdyk, who waited for a Coyle to arrive at the net and then delivered a perfect pass for a tap-in.

Finally, Coyle completed the hat trick even though his deferential personality tried to turn it down. With a clear shot to the net, Coyle passed it to Pastrnak, but Pastrnak gave it right back to him to finish it off.