The Bruins Don't Bother To Show Up In A Lifeless 4-0 Shutout Loss At The Garden Vs. The Rangers

 

    I'm told that there was a hockey game this afternoon at the TD Garden but what we all witnessed on NESN was far from it as the Rangers (11-12-13) turned the tables on the Bruins (14-7-4) and blanked them 4-0, the same score that Boston had beaten them by on Thursday. Woof, B's fans should just be happy that nobody was allowed in the building to watch this garbage, what a pathetic performance by the home team. Boston had a season-low 18 shots on goal which were all stopped by New York's third-string goaltender Keith Kinkaid (1-1). The Black and Gold's normally incredible top line had a terrible outing and Boston's power play was 0-for-5 so it's pretty hard for them to win when both of those things happen in the same tilt. 

    Left wing Jake DeBrusk was a last-minute scratch due to Covid-19 protocols, the perfect follow-up to what we hoped was a slump-busting goal in Thursday's victory. New York really needed a win and they played with that type of desperation from start to finish unlike the Bruins who played like they didn't want to be there. Defenseman K'Andre Miller wired home a strong wrist shot from the point at 3:06 of the first period for a 1-0 New York lead. Right wing Pavel Buchnevich and center Mika Zibanejad provided the assists on his second goal of the season. Up 1-0 after the first period, NY doubled its lead in the second period as BC's Chris Kreider crushed a one-timer from Zibanejad and defenseman Jacob Trouba. It was the team-leading 14th goal of the season for the Boxford, MA native and it came at 5:42. 

    Boston got outshot in every frame so expecting a comeback on this day was simply not a reasonable possibility. Today was Rangers star left wing Artemi Panarin's first game since February 20 (no worries, he was just dealing with the Russian mob trying to blackmail him) and he made an impact as he found center Ryan Strome for another one-timer that ended up in the back of Boston's net. That increased New York's lead to 3-0 at 8:03 of the third period with Harvard's Colin Blackwell picking up the secondary assist on Strome's 10th goal of the season. The final goal for the Rangers was called "a gift" by NESN's color commentator Andy Brickley and I have to agree with his pissed off homer assessment. A lazy turnover right in front of Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (29 saves, 6-3-2) allowed Buchnevich to pad his stats with his eighth goal of the season, assisted by Kreider at 16:12.

    As you would expect, the Bruins get a day off tomorrow to recharge their bodies and minds before a very busy week that includes four road games in six days. First up, Boston plays a back-to-back in Pittsburgh (17-9-1) on Monday (7, NESN) and Tuesday (7, NESN). The Penguins have won their last five games in a row and they are three points ahead of the B's for third-place in the East Division but at least Boston does have two games in hand. That will be tough, especially since goalie Dan Vladar might have to make his NHL debut in one of those games if Tuukka Rask is still out dealing with back injury that is not getting nearly enough attention. The end of the week is guaranteed to be easier as the B's get their first two matchups of the season against the Sabres (6-16-4) aka the worst team in the NHL. Their best player BU's Jack Eichel is out for awhile dealing with a neck injury while his hapless team is 0-8-2 in its last 10 games. Boston visits Buffalo on Thursday (7, NESN) and Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). The Black and Gold typically own the Sabres therefore nothing less than four points from those two contests will be acceptable.

After Back-To-Back Stinkers, The B's Looked Like Themselves Again In A 4-1 Win Vs. The Rangers

 

    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.

For The Second Straight Night, The Bruins Got Absolutely Blown Out By A Team In New York

 

    Running out of gas in the third period last night in Long Island and losing 7-2 to the Islanders (10-6-3) after giving up five goals in the third period was one thing but tonight at Madison Square Garden, the Bruins (11-5-2) fell apart one period earlier in a humbling 6-2 defeat to the Rangers (7-8-3). After goaltender Jaroslav Halak had to play the entire game vs. the Isles, goaltender Tuukka Rask (28 saves, 7-3-1) was up next to absorb an ugly loss for the B's. Boston has dropped four of its last five games and in all of those losses, they have scored exactly two goals. It's tough to complain about much since they got off to such an incredible start to this season but truth be told, they were probably due for a market correction around this time.

    To New York's credit, they stepped on Boston's throat from the beginning and never really let up. Something called Phillip Di Giuseppe opened the scoring for the Rangers as defenseman Julian Gauthier's shot deflected in thanks to the puck hitting the left wing while he was parked in a screening position on Rask. Former Bruins prospect Ryan Lindgren provided the secondary assist on Di Giuseppe's first goal of the season at 13:16 of the first period. New York doubled its lead early in the second period when center Ryan Strome whipped in a snap shot (his 6th goal of the season) from rookie left wing-and No. 1 overall pick-Alexis Lafreniere and BC's Chris Kreider at 2:32. 

    The Bruins showed a bit of a pulse before a quick flurry by the Rangers put this one to bed. The captain Patrice Bergeron re-directed a pass from right wing David Pastrnak and left wing Brad Marchand. Bergy's eighth goal of the season came at 4:02 and it cut the Rangers' lead down to 2-1. Two local guys scored 12 seconds apart to make New York's advantage way bigger heading into the third period. Harvard's Colin Blackwell tipped in a shot by his former Crimson teammate defenseman Adam Fox for a power play goal. The St. John's Prep alum's fourth goal of the season also featured a helper by Strome at 18:52. I'm guessing that Kreider's goal (his 9th of the season) at 19:04 is the one that Rask would most like to have back. Kreider didn't have much of an angle to shoot from and it wasn't a great shot but nonetheless it still went in the net with Strome registering the lone assist. 

    The entire third period was garbage time as far as I'm concerned and the B's played like it was since Rangers right wing Pavel Buchnevich and center Jonny Brodzinski each added a goal to make the final score even more impressive or depressing depending on who you root for. Boston's top line got the final goal as Marchand was rewarded for going to the net and sticking his large nose into the mix. His team-leading 10th goal of the season was also the 300th of his NHL career and he became only the seventh Bruin ever to reach that lofty mark. The B's will have a light practice tomorrow before a Sunday afternoon matinee (12, NBC) back at MSG. I couldn't tell you which Bruins goaltender will start but I feel like we could see Rangers goaltender Alexander Georgiev (31 saves, 3-2-2) again after he helped beat the Black and Gold tonight. B's defenseman Matt Grzelcyk is on this trip so there's been talk that he could return on Sunday. Their defense could certainly use any help that it can get as they try to avoid an 0-3 road trip (Celtics style!).