For the first time since the very start of this season when the Bruins (12-5-2) struggled out of the gate, they faced some real adversity this week after getting embarrassed 7-2 against the Islanders (10-6-4) on Thursday followed by an equally depressing 6-2 loss to the Rangers (7-9-3) on Friday. All told, they had lost four out of their last five games (excluding the beating they threw on the Flyers at Lake Tahoe) but unlike the Celtics who recently suffered through an ugly 0-3 road trip, the B's made sure to show some pride this afternoon as they beat the Rangers 4-1 back at Madison Square Garden. The result and the style of the game was much more befitting of who Boston is rather than the frauds that got pushed around a few days ago by a decent team and then a rebuilding club.
Three of the goals for the Bruins came during even-strength play (the other was an empty-netter) and also promising was the fact that none of them were scored by Brad Marchand, Patrice Bergeron or David Pastrnak-their fantastic top line. Center Charlie Coyle has been invisible for most of 2021 but he found the back of the net twice today so hopefully that gets him going. They also got another goal from rookie left wing Trent Frederic who has been a pleasant surprise all season long and star defenseman Charlie McAvoy continued his big year with more production in the form of a goal. Goaltender Tuukka Rask (20 saves, 8-3-1) got the start against New York after getting shelled the other night but this time things were much different thanks to a strong overall defensive effort by the entire team.
B's head coach Bruce Cassidy tweaked what he could to infuse some new energy into the lineup as he chose to sit down struggling veteran forwards Anders Bjork and Chris Wagner along with veteran defenseman John Moore in favor of forwards Karson Kuhlman and Greg McKegg (making his Bruins debut) and defenseman Steven Kampfer (playing in his 1st game this season). Those three guys that played today for the B's are all fringe NHLers so I don't think that Bjork, Wagner or to a lesser extent Moore have to worry about losing their jobs permanently but it's the usual reminder of how to change the mojo of a hockey team in the midst of a small slump.
Getting a lead right away always helps and Boston jumped ahead with a pair of goals in the opening frame. With the teams skating 4-on-4, Coyle fired a shot past Rangers goaltender Alexander Georgiev (31 saves, 3-3-2) at 6:41. Pasta and McAvoy recorded the assists on Coyle's fourth goal of the season. Georgiev suffered a cut a few minutes earlier that required medical attention so he was gone for the rest of the first period with backup goalie Igor Shesterkin taking over until the second period began. That means that the Russian was in the net when the Bruins went up 2-0 at 18:14. Frederic tipped in a shot by defenseman Connor Clifton with rookie center Jack Studnicka picking up the second assist on Frederic's second career NHL goal.
The B's are always looking for a little more offense from McAvoy who has all the skills to be a top defenseman in the NHL so it's nice to see him looking for his shot. His goal in the second period which gave Boston a commanding 3-0 lead came on a booming one-timer from Pastrnak and Marchand. McAvoy's third goal of the season was at 10:20 and with Artemi Panarin still out of action dealing with the Russian mob, New York was unlikely to see their pop gun attack rally from three goals down. The Rangers' only goal came in the third period as my St. John's Prep and Harvard homeboy Colin Blackwell took the abundant space that the Bruins gave him and he wired a top shelf shot by Rask. His fifth goal of the season was assisted by rookie left wing Alexis Lafreniere and rookie defenseman K'Andre Miller. Coyle put it to bed with an empty-net goal at 18:05 from center Sean Kuraly.
If it feels like the Black and Gold have barely played at TD Garden this season, you are on the right track since they've only been there for six games (5-1-0) while today was their 13th road game of this campaign. Turning the page on an up-and-down February, the B's are off tomorrow before they practice at Warrior Ice Arena on Tuesday. Their next three games are all here starting with a two-game set against former Bruins captain Zdeno Chara and the Capitals (12-5-4) beginning on Wednesday (7, NESN) and concluding on Friday (7, NESN). Washington has won its last three games in a row to vault into first-place in the East Division. They are two points ahead of the Bruins but Boston has two games in hand so that could change in a few days. Next week ends for the Bruins with the Devils (7-8-2) at the Garden on Sunday (5, NESN). Boston split two games in DC a month ago and they are 1-1-1 against New Jersey this season so accumulating many points in these next three games won't be easy.
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