Bruins Win Their Season-High Fifth Game In a Row, Rallying For 4-3 Win Over Rangers

Boston (13-8-1) is finally playing good hockey, even at TD Garden and you could make a solid argument that this afternoon's 4-3 come-from-behind win against the Rangers (16-5-2) was their best victory of the young season. Mostly because New York is one of the NHL's truly elite clubs and they had two different leads (2-1 and 3-2) that they couldn't maintain. It extended the Bruins' win-streak to a season-high five games, the 15th time that they have won five games or more in a row under head coach Claude Julien.

It was a great way to celebrate Black Friday without fighting for your life at the mall looking for a stupid toy that's not worth the time or effort it takes to get it. Boston's next game isn't until Wednesday (9:30, NESN) when they start a three-game road trip in Western Canada: Edmonton (7-14-1), Calgary (8-13-1) and Vancouver (9-8-6) in four nights.

Usually matinees are sleepy affairs but not today since this contest had the feel of a playoff game, seriously. Patrice Bergeron opened the scoring at 14:15 when his quick release beat Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves). Torey Krug assisted on Bergeron's eighth goal of the season. New York answered early in the second period when rookie Oscar Lindberg skated around Dennis Seidenberg like he wasn't even there and shot around Tuukka Rask (24 saves) at 2:10. J.T. Miller and Jasper Fast assisted on Lindberg's eighth goal of the season (tied for most in the NHL by a rookie).

Boston's defense once again was caught napping when Brett Connolly's clearing attempt didn't work out so well and Ryan McDonagh was able to pass to a wide open Rick Nash. He went from backhand to forehand (that's how much time and space that he had) for his eighth goal of the season at 5:15. Things got chippy as Matt Beleskey hit Derek Stepan late, causing him to fly into the boards and break some ribs. Immediately like a good teammate, defenseman Dylan McIlrath dropped the gloves with Beleskey and pounded him into submission.

The Bruins' top-ranked power play struck twice in the game, beginning with Connolly's tying goal at 9:34. He made up for his earlier gaffe with his fifth goal of the season, assisted by Colin Miller and Jimmy Hayes (getting some rare power play ice time). King Henrik bought a shaky goaltender interference call on Brad Marchand midway through the third period that was more deserving on an Oscar than a penalty. New York took advantage as Miller tipped Keith Yandle's shot and the puck went off the post, bounced back off Rask then in the net. Kevin Klein had the second assist on Miller's fourth goal of the season.

In a scenario more likely to be found in the NBA, Boston benefited from a makeup call as Fast was whistled for a shady holding penalty late in the third. Wouldn't you know that Boston's power play came through again as David Krejci's simple shot from the point took a wicked deflection off Klein and past Lundqvist. Krejci's ninth goal of the season was unassisted. Stepan will be out indefinitely but it doesn't sound like Beleskey will receive a suspension for his dangerous hit.

Given how well the Bruins have played on the road in 2015-16 (8-2-0, 2nd best road mark in the league) and the fact that the Oilers and Flames are the two worst teams in the West, Boston has a good chance to pick up some points on their upcoming trip. Granted a back-to-back in Calgary on Friday (9, NESN) and Vancouver (10, NESN) on Saturday is tough but all of those teams are .500 or worse at home: Edmonton is 4-5-1 at Rexall Place, Calgary is 5-5-0 at Scotiabank Saddledome and Vancouver is 3-4-3 at Rogers Arena. In other words, the B's should take advantage of playing these garbage teams.

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Who Wants A Sweep? Not The Bruins Apparently Who Choke Away Game 4 Vs. Rangers In OT

The Bruins clearly saw the awful forecast this weekend in New England so they thought, "we can't do anything outside so why don't we play another game against the Rangers instead?" Boston had a glorious chance to send New York home for the summer but they blew a pair of leads (2-0, 3-2) en route to a 4-3 overtime loss at Madison Square Garden in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals. The Bruins still own a 3-1 lead in the series but this has been deceptively close since three of the four games have been decided by one goal with two in overtime.

Game 5 is Saturday (5:30 p.m., NBCSN) and it's only happening because of BC and Eastern Mass products Brian Boyle and Chris Kreider (who had the game-winner). Well that's not true, it also took a couple insanely improbable things to let New York climb back into this. Credit to the Rangers though as Boyle finally solved their power play drought (0 for 12 in the series before that) for the tying goal at 10:00 in the third period. Kreider celebrated his promotion to a better line (sorry Brad Richards) with a pretty tip-in from Rick Nash at 7:03 in overtime.

Just like Game 3, the B's took it to the Rangers from the start and New York played like they couldn't care less. Between swearing at the refs, John Tortorella kept busy during TV timeouts by updating his resume and creating a Linked In profile. Boston outshot New York 12-4 in the first period but they couldn't beat Henrik Lundqvist (37 saves). The Bruins struck twice on the power play in the second period to grab the 2-0 advantage. Nathan Horton slipped one past King Henrik at 4:39, his fifth of the playoffs, from David Krecji and Brad Marchand. Torey Krug scored his third goal in four games at 7:41 with a long range slap shot from Tyler Seguin and Horton.

Someone must have slipped booze in Tuukka Rask's (28 saves) water bottle since he made one of the worst mistakes I've ever seen by an NHL goaltender that totally changed the tenor of what was shaping up to be an easy win for the Black and Gold. 58 seconds after Krug's goal, Carl Hagelin innocently floated a backhander on Rask that caused him to trip over his own skates than attempt to flail his stick at the slowly moving puck. It didn't work, 2-1 Bruins.

Rask's flask was passed to Zdeno Chara in the Bruins dressing room between periods because then it was his turn to make an unbelievable mistake that never happens. Chara was going behind Boston's net when Derek Stepan stripped the puck from him then wrapped it around the goal and in before Rask could recover. It made Tuukka look bad too but I can't blame him nearly as much as Chara, what was that?

If those goals weren't strange enough, Tyler Seguin suddenly morphed into a guy with confidence that could finish around the net. He made it 3-2 at 8:06 from Dougie Hamilton and Chara, his first goal of the playoffs looked like it might clinch the series.

About that, Boston took its annual too many men on the ice penalty which led to Boyle's goal. As hopeless as New York's power play has been, you knew that eventually they would figure it out.

The shots were even 7-7 in overtime but it felt like the B's had better scoring chances and it was only a matter of time before they ended it. As Lee Corso would say, "not so fast my friend!" Boston fell to 3-1 in overtime this postseason while New York improved to 1-3. The Bruins are 1-3 in closeout games but unlike the Maple Leafs series, this time they gave themselves one more game of breathing room. Actually forget I said that, please end it on Saturday night!

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The Bruins Can't Get Enough Overtime, Beat Rangers 3-2 In Game 1 On Marchand's Goal

Brad Marchand was mostly invisible in the first round series against the Maple Leafs. He had three assists, including a helper on Patrice Bergeron's series clinching OT tally in Game 7 but for the most part, he didn't play like himself. That's precisely why Bruins fans have to be psyched with what they saw from Marchand in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals tonight at TD Garden as he scored the game-winner in OT for a 3-2 Boston win over the Rangers. Game 2 is Sunday afternoon (3 p.m., NBC) back at the Garden.

Anything can happen in overtime but it wouldn't be wrong to say that the B's deserved this after David Krejci and Johnny Boychuk hit the crossbar and post respectively in the third period then Boston dominated on a power play in the extra session but couldn't beat Henrik Lundqvist (45 saves). Boychuk even hit the post again which made you wonder if it wasn't their night. In what had to be one of the only odd man rushes of the entire tightly contested game, Marchand redirected Patrice Bergeron's centering pass at 15:40 (2nd longest game in these playoffs). Zdeno Chara had the second assist.

The first period was dull and scoreless but things started to pick up in the second period before a truly wild third period. Chara snapped Lundqvist's shutout streak at 152:23 when his shot somehow eluded the Vezina Trophy nominee (he won it last year too) and trickled past him at 12:23 of the second. David Krejci and Nathan Horton had the assists, continuing their strong playoffs.

New York scored a backbreaking goal with 1.3 seconds left in the frame as Ryan McDonagh's blast from the point found a hole by Tuukka Rask (33 saves). The Rangers used the momentum from that goal to bag another one as Derek Stepan beat Rask with a one-timer just 14 seconds into the third. Truthfully, that was one Rask would like to have back but that only made him even with Lundqvist.

No worries, rookie Torey Krug has been sent here to solve Boston's power play woes and help them win another Cup. Haha or something like that. Playing in his first career NHL playoff game, Krug scored a power play goal at 2:55 from Dougie Hamilton and Marchand. This was a man's goal, not a lucky bounce or break. After Hamilton walked it along the blue line, he passed it to Krug who hammered it home.

New York survived an interference penalty on Derek Dorsett in overtime but that man advantage seemed to really get Boston into attack mode. They peppered the Rangers with shots in OT (16-5) so it felt right for the Hockey Gods that they finished the job.

This game was the grind that everyone expected and the rest of the series should be more of the same. Since the Bruins and Rangers play similar styles and each has great goaltenders while sometimes struggling to score goals, expect plenty of one-goal, low-scoring affairs. After both teams went seven games in the first round, you can bet they'll both be happy to have an extra day off before Game 2. Time to rest their weary legs.

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Bruins Steal A Point From The Rangers, Lose 4-3 In A Shootout

Last night was one of those rare occasions in sports when a loss really felt like a win. The Bruins (8-1-2) were down 3-0 against the Rangers (7-5-0) in the third period at TD Garden before they rallied for three goals in the final 11:16 to tie it and send it to overtime. Unfortunately, after a thrilling but scoreless OT it went to a shootout where they lost 4-3. Rick Nash and Ryan Callahan (who had the winner) scored for New York while only Brad Marchand tallied a shootout goal for Boston.

In this shortened season, points are at a premium so the one that the B's earned should feel like more than that. They had no business getting a positive result but they managed to somehow beat Henrik Lundqvist (37 saves) in quick succession after he had frustrated them all game long. Tuukka Rask (26 saves; 6-1-2) had his second bad start in a row at home but let's not overreact here.

The Rangers were efficient as they potted a goal in each frame. Carl Hagelin made it 1-0 at 10:37 of the first period after an NHL All-Star/Olympic assist from Rick Nash, Dan Girardi had the second assist. Nash was tripped up but he still managed to throw it to Hagelin who only had to tap it in past Rask. Derek Stepan increased New York's advantage to 2-0 at 8:17 of the second period after a careless turnover by Milan Lucic in the neutral zone. Rask didn't help himself by whiffing on a save he usually registers on Stepan's wrister.

When Anton Stralman scored his first goal of the season, at 2:07 of the third period, it's understandable that most Bruins fans thought it was over. It was the weakest goal that Rask had allowed all season as he let a slow shot from the point trickle through his leg pads.

Boston's wretched power play was 0 for 4 so fittingly, David Krejci broke Lundqvist's shutout attempt one second after a Rangers penalty had expired. Dennis Seidenberg's shot from the point was tipped and Lucic had the other assist in the scramble before Krejci's fourth goal of the season at 8:44. With Rask pulled, the B's notched a pair of goals (something they hadn't done in 3.5 years) to tie it up. Traffic in front caused another juicy rebound and Nathan Horton ended up with his fourth goal of the season (assists to Lucic and Andrew Ference) at 18:29.

Brad Marchand took the roof off the Garden with the game-tying goal, his seventh of the season at 19:17. He tried to pass it but it deflected back to him before Lundqvist could react in time, Marchand had roofed it past him. Patrice Bergeron and Seidenberg had the assists.

The only Debbie Downer aspect of this thriller was that it wrapped up the season series between these teams (2-1 New York), really. Kudos to the NHL for getting this quality rivalry out of the way in the season's first 12 games (technically 11 after Saturday's matchup with Tampa Bay was postponed because of the blizzard). It would probably give us a heart attack if they played each other in the postseason but one thing's for sure: it would be an amazing series.

Ok I lied, there is one other depressing part: the Bruins won't be home again for another 2+ weeks. They are about to embark on their longest road trip of the season: five games. No doubt the team will also be missing Boston since they hit all the backwaters in the Eastern Conference: Buffalo, Winnipeg, Tampa Bay, Florida and Long Island. The B's make their second stop in Buffalo in less than a week on Friday (7 p.m., NESN). They beat the Sabres (5-8-1) 3-1 way back on Sunday night.

UPDATE 2/13: Jay Pandolfo cleared waivers so he's officially a Bruin now.

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The Rangers Have The Bruins' Number So Far This Season

It's never a good sign when you play well against a team but they still find a way to beat you on far from their best performance.

The Bruins (38-28-3) controlled play for long stretches today against the Rangers (42-15-7) at Madison Square Garden but New York came out on top 4-3. The Rangers have won all three meetings so far this season between these two Eastern Conference powerhouse teams and they went up a whopping 12 points on the B's.

After being blessed with good health almost all of last season including the playoffs, the opposite has been true lately for the Bruins who are missing five important players (Tuukka Rask, Nathan Horton, Rich Peverley, Andrew Ference and Daniel Paille). As a result, they can't find any consistency. They've lost three of four and still haven't won two straight since mid-January.

Spotting the Rangers a 2-0 lead in the first 6:15 never helps either. After Lane MacDermid fought Mike Rupp on MacDermid's first NHL shift, Ruslan Fedotenko (8th of the season) tipped in Anton Stralman's shot from the point at 5:05. Former BC star Brian Boyle had the other assist.

Tim Thomas (13 saves; 27-15-0) had no chance on the second one since Carl Hagelin (12th of the season) banked one off Boston defenseman Greg Zanon, from behind the net. Brad Richards and Dan Giardi assisted on the lucky tally which caused Bruins head coach Claude Julien to call a timeout.

It worked right away as Benoit Pouliot (10th of the season) cut it to 2-1 at 7:57 thanks to some fine work from linemate Jordan Caron on the forecheck. A bad turnover by the Rangers in their own end let Caron snap one past Henrik Lundqvist (30 saves; 31-12-5).

On the ensuing face-off at center ice, for some reason Brandon Prust thought it would be a good idea to fight Milan Lucic. Prust is lucky he didn't get seriously hurt taking on a guy way bigger and tougher than him.

Gregory Campbell and Stu Bickel later in the first period too, making it the third and final bout of a wild frame.

Caron (4th of the season) tied it at two 1:40 into the second with an unassisted goal that Lundqvist would probably like back. Caron's shot from the left face-off dot beat him shortside where they shouldn't be any room.

Marian Gaborik (32nd of the season) took advantage of two mistakes by the normally reliable Dennis Seidenberg to put New York back in front 3-2 at 3:14 in the third. Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto assisted as Gaborik backhanded it in from the side of the net after Thomas made a few saves and Seidenberg tried to put it around the back of the boards but the Rangers intercepted it.

David Krejci (17th of the season) scored his fourth goal in two games, making it 3-3 at 11:42. Once again, it was thanks to fine passing and skating from his new linemates Milan Lucic and Tyler Seguin.

Unfortunately just as the Bruins climbed back into it, the Rangers shut the door when Derek Stepan (14th of the season) scored 39 seconds after Krejci's goal. Thomas was screened and Stepan's shot was a laser anyway, right over Thomas' shoulder.

It wasn't Boston's day as evidenced by the absurd stop that Lundqvist made on Brad Marchand and also Gregory Campbell hit the post as well.

The regular season series between these teams will end on April Fool's Day back in New York. They played much better today than the last time they met but Boston is still searching for an elusive point(s) against the class of the East.

No update yet on Tuukka Rask's condition but the Bruins are supposed to address that tomorrow. I have a bad feeling that Tuukka might be done for the season which would be a very tough blow for Boston. The B's will travel to Toronto on Tuesday night to meet the Maple Leafs who as usual are in disarray, this time after firing head coach Ron Wilson over the weekend.

Boston has owned Toronto so far this season to the tune of 4-0 and a 23-6 goal differential. The only hitch is that they haven't played them since December 1. Let's hope the dominance continues for the Black and Gold as they'll look to snap a two-game losing streak.

Bigger picture, the Eastern Conference playoffs will definitely go through New York. The question is if the Bruins (our concern) or somebody else can beat the Rangers since it appears to be their time to make a Cup run. These things can change in a shift though so stay tuned.

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Bruins sleepwalk through an afternoon meeting with the Rangers, flush two valuable points down the Causeway Street sewer

I don't know what it is about 1 p.m. starts or facing the New York Rangers but I feel like in both cases, the Boston Bruins always struggle (since I've been to many of those games the last few seasons).

Today was no exception as the Bs (41-23-10) sleepwalked through the first two periods at the TD Garden, spotted the Rangers (41-30-5) a 1-0 lead and that's all it took as New York skated back to Broadway with a 1-0 win.

Henrik Lundqvist (32-24-5) is one of the NHL's top goaltenders and he was immense in the third period alone (Boston outshot New York 12-1 in the final 20 minutes). He finished with 26 saves for his league-leading 11th shutout of the season.

Tuukka Rask (10-12-2) made 22 saves for the Bruins but he was the tough-luck loser as always, similar to the pitcher who gives up one run yet loses because the other pitcher hurls a complete game shutout. Rough.

New York got its only goal just 6:39 into the contest as Derek Stepan scored his 20th of the season, from Michael Sauer and Vaclav Prospal. Normally, I would complain about how Boston got screwed on the play since it all started with a clear offsides on the Rangers which turned into a face-off in the Bruins' end. New York won the draw and Stepan deflected the shot.

The thing is that New York played with more fire from the start, outshooting Boston 9-8 in the first period and 13-6 in the second period. No excuses, it was an early start for both teams and if anything it should have favored the Bruins since they were home on Thursday.

In the third period, the Bruins had countless golden opportunities to tie it up but after about the tenth one just missed, you knew it wasn't going to be their day.

Only eight games remain in the regular season and tomorrow night is probably the hardest as Boston plays a back-to-back by visiting the Philadelphia Flyers. The later start and today's result makes it likely that the Bruins will be much more competitive but you never know with this lovable bunch of losers.