The B's Closed Out November In Style: With Another Memorable Rally & OT Win at TD Garden

It's probably not a sustainable way to get positive results in the long run but at least for the time being, the Bruins (18-3-5) are finding ways to get wins even when they sleepwalk through much of a game. This afternoon in their usual Black Friday matinee at TD Garden, they spotted the Rangers (12-9-3) a 2-0 lead early in the second period only to rally for a thrilling 3-2 overtime victory thanks to David Krejci. Boston's sixth win in a row also ensured that they'll survive until December with their unbeaten in regulation record at home (10-0-4) intact.

New York is still rebuilding but at the moment, they seem to be making some progress under former BU head coach David Quinn. Coming into today's matchup, they had been 6-3-1 in their last 10 games and they were seeking revenge after absorbing a 7-4 Bruins blowout at Madison Square Garden back on October 27. The two Original Six teams will meet one more time in the regular season: February 16 in New York. Between Thanksgiving and the fact that they were playing their third game in four days (after winning at Montreal on Tuesday & at Ottawa on Wednesday), you can understand why the Black and Gold came out slow in their new third jersey (that is pretty sharp in my humble opinion).

The Rangers took a 1-0 lead at 14:14 of the first period as Pavel Buchnevich beat Bruins goaltender Jaroslav Halak (26 saves, 6-1-3) with a hard shot to his glove side. Tony DeAngelo and Jacob Trouba had the assists on Buchnevich's-their top line right wing-fifth goal of the season. Boston had managed to kill its first penalty of the contest (tripping on Sean Kuraly) but it might as well have counted as a power play goal since his infraction expired just five seconds before the breakthrough tally. Leading 1-0 after the opening frame, New York doubled its lead at 6:21 as Filip Chytil was able to drive right to the net and put in a juicy rebound at 6:21. Ryan Strome and Artemi Panarin (8 goals and 19 assists in his last 16 games) provided the helpers on the young Czech center's eighth goal of the season.

B's defenseman Charlie McAvoy is known for many great things that he can do on the ice but dropping the gloves usually isn't one of them. The 21-year-old did help change the momentum for his team by getting into a very rare fight (which admittedly he lost) to New York fourth line left wing/part-time defenseman Brendan Smith-former Bruin Reilly's older brother. The other main factor that helped Boston dig out of its self-inflicted hole was their penalty kill which finished an incredible 6-for-6 on the day. First, they killed a two-man advantage that lasted for 1:02 with the Rangers already up 2-0. Not long after that, the Bruins finally put one past Rangers legendary goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (24 saves, 7-5-2). It came on a fluky play-the soccer equivalent of an own goal-as Jake DeBrusk threw a shot on net that was tipped by Kuraly and hit the post before bouncing off of King Henrik who ended up knocking it in his own net with his stick. Oops! Kuraly's second goal of the season was also assisted by Brandon Carlo and suddenly, Boston only trailed by one goal (2-1) heading into the third period.

After being outshot 11-7 in the first and 11-8 in the second, the Bruins officially woke up in the third (aka winning time) as they had five more shots than the Rangers (11-6). Boston didn't wait too long to tie it up either as David Pastrnak (who else?) scored his NHL-best 24th goal of the season at 4:27. David Krejci and DeBrusk had the assists as Jake's centering pass to Krejci in front of the net somehow deflected right to Pasta who knew exactly what to do with it-firing the puck low under Lundqvist's leg pads. Cool nerd stat: Pasta and Brad Marchand both have 40+ points now, becoming the first Bruins teammates to do that in 26 games since Bobby Orr and Phil Esposito (ever heard of them?) in 1974-75. It's only the fifth time in franchise history that has happened so yes, it's kind of a big deal if you're into that type of thing.

Par Lindholm got a double-minor for high-sticking more than halfway through the third period but yet again, Boston's killers (relax, head coach Bruce Cassidy lovingly refers to them as that) survived being shorthanded that long. Charlie McAvoy (who skated a game-high 25:22) also reminded everyone that the BU-BC hatred never goes away as he crushed former Eagle Chris Kreider with an open ice hit late in regulation in Boston's defensive zone.

There was some back-and-forth action in the abbreviated extra session but Krejci's goal turned out to be the only shot on goal for either club. Halak actually started the entire sequence by getting the puck to Krejci in the neutral zone. From there, he passed back to Pastrnak who dangled by a Ranger then slid a beautiful return dish to his fellow countrymen who admitted afterwards that he basically had an open net to shoot at. His fifth goal of the season came at 1:40 and Boston's first overtime win vs. New York in almost 11 years (Phil Kessel in a shootout on Jan. 19, 2008 was surprisingly the last time) helped extend their point streak to 10 games (7-0-3). The Bruins' last regulation loss was three weeks ago (4-2 at Detroit-an unexplainable setback to a putrid opponent). The B's also improved to 2-0 in overtime this season while the Rangers fell to 2-2.

A very busy stretch continues for the Bruins next week but at least they get to stay home and be around their loved ones. They host cratering Montreal (11-9-5) who played the only game in the NHL last night and lost their sixth straight game-at the Bell Centre to New Jersey (9-11-4). They are in Philadelphia (13-7-5) tomorrow afternoon so by the time that Claude Juilien's boys get here on Sunday night (7, NESN) they could be in full panic mode (let's be serious though, I'm sure the city of Montreal is already falling down with these recent results). Boston continues to play every other day as they host the Hurricanes (15-9-1) on Tuesday (7, NESN) followed by the Blackhawks (10-9-5) on Thursday (7, NESN) and wrapping up with Colorado (14-8-2) next Saturday night (7, NESN). Got it? This lovely five-game homestand is followed by a four-game road trip so there is that. At this hour, the Bruins have the most points (41) in the whole NHL so there isn't a whole lot to complain about if you are a fan of them.

Tweet

The Bruins Lose to the Rangers In Their Last Game Before the Bye Week & Rask Suffers a Concussion

Well it is safe to say that this was not how Boston (27-17-5) wanted to go into its bye week. They lost 3-2 to the Rangers (21-20-7) tonight at TD Garden, meaning that against the Flyers (19-23-6), Blues (21-21-5) and New York in the span of four days (with two games at home), they were only able to walk away with two out of a possible six points. The All-Star Game is next Sunday in San Jose and unless Patrice Bergeron gets voted in, David Pastrnak will be the only Boston representative there which is actually a good thing in terms of rest.

Slumps and bad results will happen from time-to-time but the main issue stemming from this evening was that Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (6 saves) was concussed on a scary play in the first period. Up 1-0, Boston gave up the tying goal 1:04 after that as Rangers rookie left wing Filip Chytil went flying towards the net and stickhandled around Rask before barrelling into him. Chytil's ninth goal of the season was unassisted but nobody cared. Rask lay on the ice for a long time then was gingerly helped up then off the ice balanced by the arms of some teammates. Backup goaltender Jaroslav Halak (11 saves, 13-9-2) was summoned with 1:23 left in the first.

New York is 3-0-1 now in its last four games vs. Boston but things looked positive earlier on as Danton Heinen redirected a pass from linemate Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson at 17:28 of the first period for a 1-0 B's lead. The Bruins had been 17-4-3 when they scored first this season but that didn't hold up in this one. Before Heinen's sixth goal of the season, the Bruins showed a nice little tribute video for defenseman and Stanley Cup champion Adam McQuaid who was traded to the Rangers during training camp in September. Boston's power play was a mess all night (0 for 5 including a double-minor where they could barely generate anything). What made that even more painful is the fact that New York came in with one of the worst penalty kill units in the league (27th).

Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves, 15-12-7) has always been a Bruins killer as evidenced by his 28-13-2 career record against them. This matchup was no different as he made a bunch of quality saves and it also helped that his teammates blocked 12 shots while Boston missed the net a whopping 15 times as well. Mika Zibanejad gave the Rangers their first lead of the contest when he tipped in Brady Skjei's shot at 5:22 of the second period. Mats Zuccarello had the second assist on Zibanejad's 16th goal of the season.

Boston fell to 1-14-2 when trailing after two periods despite the fact that they tied it up early in the third period. Brad Marchand one-timed a Pastrnak feed from close range, 2-2. Patrice Bergeron had the other assist on Marchand's 19th goal of the season. Again, New York had a timely response as Zibanejad bagged the game-winning goal on the power play at 9:05. With a screen in front of Halak, he was able to whip a hard shot past him, assisted by BU's Kevin Shattenkirk and Zuccarello. Not much else transpired after that besides McQuaid beating the hell out of Chris Wagner after he mistakenly thought that the Bruins' fourth-liner had taken a run at right Jesper Fast (sadly, he hadn't).

The other nice part about the break for the B's is that when they return-their first practice back here is a week from Monday-they get two more games at the Garden. They host one of the NHL's best teams-the Jets (31-15-2) on Tuesday (7, NESN) before they get a return meeting with the Flyers on Thursday (7, NESN). Let's all think good thoughts for Rask who was 6-0-1 in his last seven starts and on the verge of setting Boston's franchise record for wins (he's stuck on 252). Halak was great at the beginning of the season when Tuukka was shaky but lately he's been much more the journeyman that his NHL resume would seem to indicate.

Stay safe in the snowstorm everybody in New England and root on the Patriots tomorrow (6:40, CBS) at top-seeded Kansas City in their eighth straight AFC Championship Game. We all need a little break from hockey for a bit before coming back for the final 33 games of the regular season that will surely fly by as it always does.

Tweet

If the B's Make the Playoffs This Year, They Need to Avoid the Rangers For As Long As Possible

It is still way too far out to start making playoff plans but let me say this: if Boston (33-25-6) reaches the postseason for the first time in three years, they had better hope that they don't see the Rangers (41-21-2) anytime soon. New York polished off a three-game season sweep of Boston with a playoff-like 2-1 victory tonight at TD Garden. The Rangers have now won five straight games against the Bruins dating back to last season. At this time of the year, there is no solace when you leave points on the table and that's exactly what the B's did although at least they had a much better showing than their pair of 5-2 beatings in both 2016-17 tilts.

Rangers superstar Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves) celebrated his 35th birthday today and he proved to still be one of the best goaltenders in the world. Boston came out strong to start the contest, outshooting New York 9-3 in the first period, but it was shades of Claude Julien's teams the last few seasons as they couldn't convert any of those prime scoring chances. The rest of New York woke up in the second period and outshot Boston 11-8 but it was still 0-0 with both power plays shooting blanks (0-for-2).

Tuukka Rask (19 saves) wasn't nearly as busy as his counterpart until two unlikely Rangers beat him with sweet shots early in the third period. Pavel Buchnevich-fresh off the bus from Hartford (where he scored two goals including the game-winner for the Wolf Pack last night)-put the puck top-shelf by Rask at 5:10. Zdeno Chara for some reason let the young Russian skate to the slot where he unloaded a heavy shot. Nick Holden and the ghost of Rick Nash assisted on Buchnevich's seventh goal of the season (his 1st for NYR since Jan. 19). Oscar Lindberg made a sweet move around Brandon Carlo and then roofed the puck to the far side top corner at 9:35 for a sudden 2-0 Rangers lead. Matt Puempel and Brady Skjei (who for all I know could be background characters in an 80s romantic comedy) had the helpers on Lindberg's fifth goal of the season.

Under Julien, that would have been all she wrote for the B's but with Cassidy (who fell to 7-2-0 overall, 4-1-0 at home), their resilience is much more noticeable. While he was getting taken down by a New York defenseman, David Pastrnak managed with one hand to shovel the puck towards Lundqvist. Brad Marchand of course was right there on the doorstep to knock the puck in after a few Tinder-like swipes at 12:56. Colin Miller had the second assist on Marchand's team-leading 29th goal of the season. Marchand has 22 points (12 goals, 10 assists) in his last 14 games and that goal extended his point-streak to four games (4 goals, 4 assists). Pastrnak remained hot as well (am I right ladies?) with 15 points (6 goals, 9 assists) in his last 11 games.

Boston had all the momentum and plenty of time left to find a tying goal but a shaky at best goalie interference call on David Backes derailed things with 2:22 left in regulation. I really respect almost everything about Lundqvist except his propensity to flop like a professional soccer player (he is Swedish after all). If you watch many Rangers games, you'll notice that he's often in collisions or plays that he makes look worse than they really turn out to be. God bless NHL referees since it appears that they still haven't figured this out about the man they call the King (that's not named LeBron). New York did nothing on that power play but it mattered little since when Backes finally got out of the penalty box, the tilt was nearly over.

The B's saw their four-game winning streak at the Garden end this evening but they will have a great chance to start another one on Saturday night (7, NESN) as they host the wretched Devils (25-26-12). There is no excuse for the Bruins not to comfortably beat that terrible team that is going nowhere (except the NHL Draft lottery) fast. As we speak, New Jersey is only two points ahead of both Carolina (25-25-10) and Detroit (25-26-10) who are bringing up the rear in the Eastern Conference. In other words, they suck. If I was Cassidy, I would probably start backup goaltender Anton Khudobin (3-5-1) since anyone not named Malcolm Subban should be able to get a win vs. New Jersey.

Tweet

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.

Tweet

Bruins Put Together One of Their Better Wins of the Season: 4-2 Over Rangers

With only eight games left in the regular season, so much can change in a very short span of time. Boston (37-25-13) cruised to a 4-2 victory vs. Rangers (47-20-7) this afternoon at TD Garden thanks to two goals by Milan Lucic. New York came in as the top team in the entire league while Boston had lost six games in a row. Naturally, the B's scored three goals in the first period (for only the 2nd time this season) and led 3-0 after 1 (the 1st time that they've done that in 2014-15).

So while the final result was a foregone conclusion for at least half of the contest, the Bruins had a real scare 10 seconds into the second period as Tuukka Rask (14 saves) quickly left the ice. He went to the dressing room then never returned. Niklas Svedberg (16 saves) came in and late in the third period, Boston's goaltender coach and former NHL veteran Bob Essensa was suited up on the bench as the Bruins' backup.

To our relief, Bruins head coach Claude Julien after the game termed Rask's absence a "dehydration issue." Somewhere David Ortiz shakes his head, knowing the same helpless feeling. Furthermore, Rask was going to travel with the team to Carolina and he could play tomorrow vs. the Hurricanes (5, NESN).

Fortune was on Boston's side from the start (something I've rarely said this up and down season) as Lucic appeared to kick the puck in at 1:41. It was reviewed and surprisingly stood up as a goal, poor Henrik Lundqvist (26 saves)-who was playing in his first game since February 2. Patrice Bergeron (5-game point streak) and David Pastrnak assisted on Lucic's 16th goal of the season.

Lucic scored a more traditional (and legal) goal at 9:26, assisted by Torey Krug and Ryan Spooner. You knew that it was Boston's day when snakebitten Carl Soderberg finished a breakaway with a pretty backhander at 14:27. It was his 12th goal of the season, unassisted after former Bruin Matt Hunwick coughed it up along his own blueline.

Another sign that the Bruins would not lose occurred when Reilly Smith popped in a rebound at 5:53 of the second period for a 4-0 lead. His 13th goal of the season was also his first tally in over a month (Feb. 22 at Chicago) or since he signed that needless two-year extension (thanks Chiarelli). Loui Eriksson and Soderberg assisted on it.

New York avoided the shutout with a notable goal: Rick Nash tapped in a beautiful feed from BC's Chris Kreider. That was Nash's 40th goal of the season, the 2nd most in the NHL and the 3rd time he's done that in his career (1st since 2008-09 with Columbus). Derek Stepan started the play at center ice and was credited with the second assist. Hunwick added a garbage time goal(his 2nd of the season) with a shot from the point when there was just 23 seconds left in regulation.

It is a longshot but Boston has to hope for a Toronto (27-42-6) win tonight vs. Ottawa (37-25-11). As it stands at this moment, the Bruins are two points ahead of the Senators for eighth-place in the Eastern Conference but Ottawa has two games in hand. Andrew Hammond is out with an injury so Craig Andersson gets a rare start, hopefully he is rusty. If Boston finds themselves in the playoffs, they have to hope to draw the Rangers in the first round since today's win improved their record to 7-1-2 in the last 10 games between the Original Six rivals.

Tweet

Bruins Find Another Way to Beat the Rangers

It must be tough to be on the Rangers right now knowing that they are right there with the Bruins except that Boston recently almost always ends up on top. On November 19, Tuukka Rask stole two points for the Bruins at Madison Square Garden and today at TD Garden, Boston (17-7-2) rallied from a 2-1 deficit in the third period for a satisfying 3-2 win over New York (13-13-0). Going back to last postseason, Boston has won six of its last seven games vs. their Original Six rivals.

Brad Marchand played arguably his best game of the season and it all began with a nice one-timer for a goal at 11:42 of the first period. Marchand's fourth goal of the season was assisted by Zdeno Chara and Loui Eriksson. New York answered quickly, times two. Rick Nash showed off his range of skills by going around the net then beating Tuukka Rask (17 saves) with a snap shot at 13:04. Less than a minute and a half later, Ryan McDonagh pinched in the offensive zone and his shot from the point found its way into the net.

Boston slowly started to find their legs as they peppered Henrik Lundqvist (25 saves) with quality shots (forget quantity) including two off the post by Chara and Torey Krug. Speaking of Big Z, he picked the perfect time to start a fight (his first of the season and only his third in the last two campaigns) vs. former BC star Brian Boyle. You won't find a more even matchup for Chara in terms of size in the NHL but that didn't prevent him from dominating Boyle.

That spark carried over to the third period as Patrice Bergeron notched his first point in seven games on a fortuitous bounce. His one-timer from Brad Marchand and Johnny Boychuk deflected in off a New York defenseman parked in front of Lundqvist. I thought Eriksson touched it but apparently not because the goal (Bergeron's 7th of the season) was never credited to anyone else.

It was fitting that the captain finished off Boston's rival with the game-winning goal at 11:05. David Krejci assisted (his team-high 15th) as Chara somehow found plenty of space in the slot and let rip a low laser aided by Milan Lucic's screen of Lundqvist. His sixth goal of the season gave him the famed Gordie Howe hat trick. New York had a chance to tie after a too many men on the ice call on Boston but the Bruins' penalty kill (5-for-5) and Rask stood tall. The Rangers pulled Lundqvist and called a timeout but they couldn't prevent another loss that left them at sitting exactly at .500.

The week from hell (5 games in 8 days) concludes tomorrow back at the Garden vs. Columbus (9-13-3). Boston will be going for the season sweep of the Blue Jackets after a 3-1 win in Columbus October 12 and a 3-2 overtime win in Boston on November 14 (Lucic's blocked shot then breakaway). The weird part is that they won't see Nathan Horton in any of those matchups, what a shame.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

2 Us, 2 Ks = Stealing 2 Points at Madison Square Garden

There are very few if any other goaltenders in the NHL that would have won tonight for the Bruins. The Rangers peppered Tuukka Rask (12-5-1) with 44 shots but only one beat him as Boston squeaked out a 2-1 road win at Madison Square Garden. There were a couple reasons why these two points were extra sweet for the Bruins (14-6-1): Dennis Seidenberg played one shift before leaving for the night with a lower body injury and the B's had played the night before in Carolina so they had to be pooped.

The Bruins only managed 22 shots on goal but they made them count. Shawn Thornton broke the scoreless deadlock at 4:58 with a slap shot over Henrik Lundqvist's (20 saves) shoulder. Brad Marchand and Chris Kelly assisted on Thornton's third goal of the season. The Fribble Crew ruled the ice as Daniel Paille made it 2-0 at 11:30. Gregory Campbell assisted on his shorthanded breakaway that ended with a backhander in the net.

1:01 later, Derick Brassard scored a power play goal for New York. It was a good shot but Rask might have been screened on the play. It felt like Boston was barely hanging on for most of the game but finally in the third period, it started to be a little more even.

The Bruins earned a day off tomorrow then they return to TD Garden on Thursday (7, NESN) to face their Western Conference dopplegangers-the St. Louis Blues (14-3-3). It should be a great game, especially since these teams so rarely play each other.

UPDATE 11/20: Defenseman Kevan Miller was called up from Providence which makes you think he could play vs. St. Louis.

UPDATE 11/21: Seidenberg is out tonight so Miller will make his NHL debut. Adam McQuaid will miss his sixth game in a row but it sounds like he could return on Saturday vs. Carolina.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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!

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Merlot Flavored Fribbles For All!

Remember when the Bruins were down 4-1 in the third period against the Maple Leafs in Game 7? Since Boston rallied for a once-in-a-lifetime 5-4 overtime win, they haven't looked back and continue to gain momentum. Tonight, they put the Rangers on the brink of elimination in the Eastern Conference semifinals with a 2-1 win at a funereal Madison Square Garden. The Bruins took a 3-0 lead in the series with a chance to sweep New York on Thursday (7 p.m., CNBC).

Daniel Paille had the game-winner on a classic Paille goal at 16:29 of third period. Shawn Thornton tipped Gregory Campbell's shot and it went over Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves) but then somehow took a U-Turn when it was about to cross the goal-line like a putt by Tiger Woods. No worries though as Paille was alert the whole time and was able to knock it in for his second goal of the playoffs.

This was a game that showed all of New York's warts, why they are going to get bounced from the playoffs and in all likelihood, burned out head coach John Tortorella will lose his job this summer. Lundqvist was amazing, a different guy than the one in Game 1 and especially Game 2. He stopped two breakaways in the first period then stood on his head in the second period as Boston blitzed New York (outshooting them 14-5).

The Rangers scored first (for the first time this series) as Taylor Pyatt tipped Ryan McDonagh's shot from the point at 3:53 of second period for his second goal of the postseason. I never got that worried though because the B's were creating so many chances. Eventually, if they kept getting them I felt like it was inevitable that Lundqvist would crack.

Nathan Horton hit the post in the second period but Johnny Boychuk finally solved the code and wristed a shot by Lundqvist 3:10 into the third period. It was the 11th goal for Bruins defensemen this postseason which leads the NHL and Boychuk's fourth goal of the playoffs which is also tops for defensemen. Daniel Paille and Thornton assisted on it with the latter winning a rare faceoff then screening Lundqvist. Boychuk almost added another later in the frame but he hit the post.

Tuukka Rask (23 saves) was victimized by Pyatt's tip in, which I felt like he still should have stopped, but he stepped up to make a big save on Rick Nash late in regulation when the Rangers decided to press for the tying goal. In the series, Rask has allowed half the amount of goals (5) that Lundqvist has given up which I believe speaks to his performance level and also New York's hopeless offense/power play.

The Rangers had the only two power plays of the game but obviously they did nothing with them. That makes them 0 for 10 in the series and 2 for 38 in the playoffs, haha how is that even possible?

Tyler Seguin and Jaromir Jagr once again had great opportunities to get off the schneid but they couldn't do it. That likely won't matter in this round but the Bruins need at least one of those guys to wake up and find their scoring touch if they want to continue winning in the Eastern Conference Finals.

Only three NHL teams have successfully rallied from an 0-3 deficit so what's the worst that could happen? Oh right, the most recent victim of that Scarlet Letter list was the Bruins in 2010 vs. Flyers in Eastern Conference semifinals. This is the same round with the same goaltender but I'm confident Boston will close it out on in four games since New York appears to have checked out on Torts and his dumb ultra-defensive system.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Take Control Of Eastern Conference Semifinals Series With 5-2 Pasting Of Rangers In Game 2

Even the best goaltenders in the NHL have off-days as Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist (27 saves) can attest to after a 5-2 Bruins win in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals this afternoon at TD Garden. This one was more wide open from the start than Game 1 with Boston leading 3-2 after two periods and they added two more goals in the third for a 2-0 series lead. Game 3 is Tuesday (7:30 p.m., NBCSN) at Madison Square Garden and it's not hyperbole to say that New York faces a must-win.

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask (35 saves) played better than his more heralded counterpart for the second game in a row. Both of these teams make it hard on themselves at times when it comes to goal-scoring but so far this series, you wouldn't know it by the way that Boston has scored eight goals in two games.

When the B's are playing at their peak level, they get contributions from all four lines and all their defensemen. It doesn't get much more spread out than today where Boston had goals from three different lines plus another pair of goals from defensemen.

In a series with such outstanding goaltenders and pathetic power plays, I think scoring first is more important than usual. Boston has done it in both games so I don't think it's a total coincidence that they lead the series 2-0. Torey Krug scored his second goal in as many games at 5:28 of the first period. He showed incredible hands to dig the puck out of his skates then shoot it past Lundqvist, Nathan Horton and David Krejci had the assists.

New York answered 2:33 later as Ryan Callahan outraced Dougie Hamilton and skated in a breakaway which he coolly finished by Rask. Boston scored the first goal in each frame as Gregory Campbell (first goal of the playoffs) made it 2-1 at 2:24 of the second period with a sweet backhander. Krug and Adam McQuaid had the assists as Campbell was able to get to the rebound off a Ranger skate.

Once again, the Rangers quickly responded as Rick Nash woke up from his slumber to score his first goal of the postseason. It was a great goal-scorer's move too as he got past Chara then ripped a low, hard shot into the corner 56 seconds after Campbell's goal.

Skating 4-on-4, Johnny Boychuk (3rd goal of the playoffs) scored what turned out to be the game-winner at 12:08 of the second period. Patrice Bergeron started the play by winning a faceoff back to Marchand who found Boychuk for a wrister. Bergeron also screened Lundqvist.

The roof began to cave in on New York 26 seconds into the third period as Marchand scored a similar goal to his overtime winner in Game 1. He went to the net and Bergeron found him for the tip in, Matt Bartkowski had the second assist on Marchand's second goal of the postseason.

I thought the Bruins had the worst power play in the universe until I saw the Rangers. New York was 0 for 5 on the man advantage today, making them 2 for 36 in the postseason and 0 for 21 on the road. Haha how is that possible? When the B's went up by two, I felt confident and after Milan Lucic went beast mode right at Lundqvist and knocked in his own rebound at 12:39 (his third goal of the playoffs), I knew it was all over. Krejci and Dougie Hamilton had the assists.

The Rangers know how to comeback from a 0-2 deficit, in fact they did it against the Capitals in the first round. However, it will be very hard to do that again especially in the following series. That's why Game 3 is so important for both teams: the Bruins can put themselves in great shape with another win or they'll let New York climb right back into the series.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

There Goes That Unbeaten Season, B's Fall 4-3 To Rangers In Overtime

A Bruins-Rangers Eastern Conference Finals in May would be pretty sweet, huh? New York (1-2-0) picked up its first win of 2013 tonight with a 4-3 overtime decision against Boston (2-0-1) at Madison Square Garden. Marian Gaborik notched his 14th career hat trick which included the game-winner only 27 seconds into the extra session.

Even though they lost, the B's still earned a point and more importantly, showed some resiliency by rallying from an early 2-0 hole and down 3-2 late in the third period. From the opening face-off, the Rangers looked nothing like the team that lost 3-1 in Boston on Saturday night in the opener or got blasted 6-3 by the Penguins the next night.

Gaborik (1st of the season) scored at 4:36 and 6:49 of the first period. His first tally was thanks to some exquisite passing from Rick Nash and Brad Richards. All Gaborik had to do was wait for Tuukka Rask (29 saves; 2-0-1) to commit then he roofed it over him. The second goal was due to his own persistence as he followed up a rebound with Michael Del Zotto and Marc Staal picking up the assists.

Eventually, the Bruins found their skating legs and woke up later in the frame. Adam McQuaid fought Brian Boyle after the former BC Eagle shot the puck after the whistle, right into McQuaid's shin/ankle. Typical BC classless move.

Boston looked like a completely different team in the second period. Brad Marchand (2nd of the season) tipped in Dougie Hamilton's shot from the point at 1:05. It was a memorable goal for two reasons: it broke Boston's 0-for-11 start this season on the power-play and it was Hamilton's first NHL point. Rich Peverely also was credited with an assist.

Milan Lucic (2nd of the season) continued to play his style of game, he tied it at two at 12:24. He followed his own rebound with assists from Zdeno Chara and David Krejci. Unfortunately, New York answered immediately as Taylor Pyatt (2nd of the season) scored a goal that was very similar except that it came as a result of Shawn Thornton's ill-fated clearing attempt.

Nathan Horton (1st of the season) basically earned Boston the point with a clutch goal, at 15:37 of the third period. It was all thanks to Andrew Ference's pinch along the boards and Gregory Campbell's hustle that kept it in the zone then found Horton. He didn't hesitate to put it through Henrik Lundqvist's (26 saves) five-hole.

A bad pass in New York's offensive zone from Chris Kelly to Ference allowed Gaborik to skate in on a breakaway. Rask made the initial save but Gaborik was able to poke it in before Ference or Johnny Boychuk recovered. It was a rough and sudden ending to a very entertaining game.

Boston returns to TD Garden on Friday (7 p.m., NESN) to face the Islanders (1-1-0). They only face the Rangers once more (Feb. 12 in Boston) in the regular season.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

Bruins Roll 3-1 Over Rangers In 2013 Season-Opener

Bruins fans couldn't ask for much more from their 2013 season-opener against the Rangers tonight at TD Garden. Boston (1-0-0) beat New York (0-1-0) 3-1 thanks to 20 saves by Tuukka Rask, a trio of goal-scorers and two lively fights (by Shawn Thornton and Gregory Campbell).

About the only thing to complain about was the woeful power-play (0 for 7) but then again, what else is new? The B's have figured out ways to win in spite of that glaring weakness the last few seasons so I guess we shouldn't be too worried about it at this point.

After dominating much of the first period, the B's went up 1-0 at 14:14 when Milan Lucic (1st goal of the season) followed up a rebound on David Krejci's shot. Andrew Ference had the other assist as Henrik Lundqvist kicked it out right to Looch.

Daniel Paille (1st goal of the season) made it 2-0 at 8:20 of the second period when he tipped in a shot by Campbell. Lundqvist got a piece of it but the puck still managed to scoot over the line.

New York finally showed some life four and a half minutes later as Brad Richards (1st goal of the season) used a screen to put a shot past Rask. Rick Nash and Dan Girardi had the assists for the Rangers.

Less than a minute later, Thornton decided to drop the gloves with Mike Rupp. After they fought, Campbell took on Stu Bickel. In both cases, Boston's fighters gave up size to their New York counterparts but that didn't stop them from squaring off three seconds apart.

Playing on his 29th birthday, Johnny Boychuk (1st of the season) gave the Bruins an insurance goal at 8:13 of the third period for a 3-1 lead. Patrice Bergeron (who had the lone assist on the play) screened Lundqvist so that he only saw puck at the last second (if that).

Rask wasn't called on to make any real difficult saves, whereas Lundqvist absolutely robbed Krejci in the third period on one of the best stops that you'll see all season in the NHL.

Boston will try to get a win streak going as they host Winnipeg (0-1-0) on Monday afternoon (1 p.m., NESN) in a special Martin Luther King Jr. Day matinee. The Jets lost 4-1 to the Senators this afternoon at home. With such a short regular season, getting off to a good start (or at least not a bad one) is key. The B's will have to take advantage when they play inferior squads like that.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

By Beating The Rangers (Finally), The Bruins Win The Northeast Division & Secure No. 2 Seed In East

Within reason, it is hard to ask for much more than what the Boston Bruins accomplished tonight at Madison Square Garden.

The B's (47-28-4) not only found a way to finally beat the Rangers (50-22-7) 2-1, for the first time in four tries, but they also locked up the Northeast Division snagged the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

All in all it was a great night as Boston picked up one of their most meaningful wins of the season, on the road no less.

Did I mention that Tim Thomas (33 saves; 34-19-1) is playing his best hockey since December? He's allowed two goals or less in seven straight games so it shouldn't come as a shock that Boston has found its way out of the muck in that same time frame.

Thomas held the fort in the third, protecting a 2-1 lead as the Rangers bombarded the Bruins in shots (19-3 advantage) but couldn't tie it up.

The Bruins have won five out of six and gained points in each contest. After losing the first three times this season to the Rangers (once in a shootout), Boston proved to themselves and the rest of the NHL that the East still goes through them even if New York has the top seed and the best record.

Adam McQuaid (eye) and Gregory Campbell (lower body) were scratched but that just paved the way for Dennis Seidenberg and Daniel Paille to return from brief hiatuses.

Marian Gaborik (40th of the season) walked in on a strange breakaway and scored 4:33 into this one. It all started when Zdeno Chara's shot bounced off of teammate Jordan Caron. The carom went to Gaborik and nobody could catch him.

Boston rallied with a pair of goals in the second as they solved Henrik Lundqvist (19 saves) just enough. Seidenberg's (5th of the season) slap shot tied it at 4:00 on assists from Chara and Brad Marchand.

Patrice Bergeron (22nd of the season) scored the game-winner on a power-play goal at 11:52 that was classic Bergeron and the stuff of Seilke (defensive forward) award winners. After getting stripped of the puck behind New York's net, Bergeron got it back and wrapped it around the post before Lundqvist could react fast enough. Tyler Seguin had the assist.

Thankfully this is the last week of the regular season. Boston hosts Pittsburgh on Tuesday before heading to Ottawa on Thursday then wrapping things up at the Garden on Saturday vs. Buffalo. Since they've lost their last two meetings with the Penguins, it would be nice to see the Bruins knock off one of the Eastern Conference's (and NHL's) best.

Thomas has earned more of a break and he'll probably only play once this week, against the Senators, with Marty Turco getting two more starts before he's ineligible for the playoffs. Might as well get full use out of him.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

We Know Who The Team To Beat Is In The Eastern Conference: The New York Rangers

How good are the New York Rangers?

They came to the TD Garden tonight and totally sucked the life out of the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 win.

New York (37-13-5) has now beaten Boston (34-18-2) both times they've played so far this season and they are nine points ahead of the Bruins for first-place in the Eastern Conference. The B's were blanked for the third time in their past six games which is not a good sign with their longest road trip (6 games in 11 days) starting tomorrow.

You're kidding yourself if you don't think the Rangers are the team to beat right now in the East. Meanwhile, Henrik Lundqvist (season-high 42 saves; 27-11-4, 7th shutout of the season) looks like the best goaltender on the planet.

Boston outshot New York 42-20, including 32-8 over the final two periods but it didn't matter as the Rangers clogged shooting lanes, blocked shots and made the most of their limited scoring chances.

Tim Thomas (17 saves; 23-11-0) took the loss for the Bruins although you can't really put the blame on him.

New York essentially won it in the first period as they scored twice; you're not going to comeback on the Rangers from down two with the way they're playing. Ryan Callahan (23rd of the season) made it 1-0 on the power-play at 10:09. Michael Del Zotto and Marian Gaborik assisted as Callahan drove to the net and was able to tap in Del Zotto's pretty feed.

The backbreaking goal was Ryan McDonagh's (6th of the season) unassisted tally with 12 seconds left in the first. Intentional or not, he banked it in off Zdeno Chara.

The Bruins had plenty of chances, including one insane sequence in the second where Lundqvist was sprawled on his back and he stopped Chara's shot with his shoulder while he wasn't even looking.

Artem Anisimov (10th of the season) aka the clown who did the machine gun goal celebration on 24/7 put it away at 2:53 in the third. Brandon Dubinsky and Anton Stralman assisted Anisimov, who waited patiently then put it in the far side over Thomas' leg pad.

The Rangers will host the Bruins twice (March 4, April 1) at Madison Square Garden. Let's hope Boston can find a way to turn the tables on New York next time. I'm sick of seeing New York teams beat Boston teams.

The Black and Gold will not return to the Garden for two weeks (a day after the trade deadline). They'll go to Montreal, Winnipeg, Minnesota, St. Louis, Buffalo and Ottawa. It's a particularly grueling stretch against either playoff contenders or bitter rivals. Let's not forget that one of the crucial parts of last season was a 7-0 road trip around this time. I'm not predicting another perfect run but I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see the B's shake the cobwebs off and find their groove on this trip.

The Bruins play the Canadiens tomorrow night. Boston has won the last three meetings with the Habs after losing the first two (in October). Savor it since tomorrow is the final meeting of the regular season between the Bruins and Canadiens. Montreal has shown a little life lately but I still doubt they'll even sniff a playoff spot.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

OT Thriller: Rangers Beat Bruins 3-2 In Possible Eastern Conference Final Preview

There aren't many NHL regular season games that get hyped up since with 82 to select for every team each year, you need to pick and choose what to devote extra time and attention to.

When the top two teams in the Eastern Conference-the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers-met this afternoon at TD Garden, it was the first time the Original 6 rivals had faced off in 2011-12. Not surprisingly, the game was spectacular even though the B's (30-13-2) came up on the short end as the Rangers (30-12-4) won 3-2 in overtime on Marian Gaborik's goal with four seconds left.

I had the same feeling after this one that I did when the Bruins lost to the Red Wings in a shootout the day after Thanksgiving. I want more, specifically in the playoffs. New York is a real threat in the East and I wouldn't be the least bit surprised to see them and Boston as the top two seeds. Therefore an Eastern Conference Final between them (Boston vs. New York) wouldn't be too much to ask.

Other good news is that these teams will meet three more times in the regular season, starting Valentine's Day back at the Garden. Then Boston goes to New York on March 4 and April Fool's Day (both Sunday afternoon national games).

After a scoreless first period, that was still filled with action, the Rangers got on the board first at 1:31 into the second when captain Ryan Callahan (16th of the season) jumped out of the penalty box and beat Tuukka Rask (30 saves; 11-5-1).

Heavyweights Shawn Thornton and Mike Rupp fought less than two minutes later and although it was a split decision, Boston seemed to gain more momentum from the scrap. Andrew Ference (4th of the season) scored a goal for the second straight game as he took a pass from David Krejci and made a pretty move to his backhand to work around Henrik Lundqvist (32 saves). Milan Lucic had the second assist.

Gaborik (24th of the season) made it 2-1 at 14:30 after a blocked shot bounced right to him and needless to say, he knew what to do with it.

Another Bruins defenseman scored, always a good sign, as Adam McQuaid (2nd of the season) and his regal mullet whipped a wrist shot from the point. Rich Peverley and Ference had the assists.

The third period was scoreless as both teams pressed for the game-winner. Ference was whistled for a game-misconduct at 1:50 in overtime as he charged into Ryan McDonagh when the Rangers defenseman had his back to him close to the boards. It was an ugly hit and Ference admitted as much after the game. McDonagh left with an injury but he's lucky it wasn't more serious; as for Ference, the B's already recalled Steven Kampfer so they clearly think that Ference (who has a conference call with the NHL tomorrow) will get suspended for at least a game.

Boston successfully killed the 4-on-3 power play for over three minutes but Gaborik had three chances to beat Rask and you can't allow that many to a guy with his type of skills. Tuukka made two unbelievable saves but he wasn't able to squeeze the second one, Gaborik stuck with it and was rewarded with a clutch goal. Rask was understandably frustrated and his old temper showed itself when he smashed his goalie stick against the goal afterwards.

The Bruins hit the road for another tough test against the other true contender in the Eastern Conference: the Philadelphia Flyers. They'll play at 3 p.m. tomorrow, meaning that nobody and I mean nobody in New England will be watching it live since that's when Patriots-Ravens kicks off. Oh well, I look forward to watching it later tomorrow night on DVR.

You have to think that the Flyers will show up this time after getting waxed 6-0 on December 17 at home against the Bruins. It's another possible playoff preview. Philly won't have any extra rest over Boston since they played the Devils this afternoon and won 4-1.

Tweet


Follow @RichSlate

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.

Let's hope this trend from last season doesn't continue

One of the reasons the Bruins struggled so much last season (besides the fact that they couldn't score, which is kind of a big deal) was the fact that they always played down to competition and struggled to beat the teams that they should handle.

Last night at the TD Garden vs. the New York Rangers was the first instance in this young season that the B's (4-2-0) haven't quite gotten over that disturbing trend. They were lethargic and lost 3-2 to the Rangers (3-2-1).

Tuukka Rask (0-2-0) got his first start in two weeks and it wasn't a good one. He stopped 27 shots but was victimized by two fluke goals in the first period by the offensively-challenged Rangers.

Artem Ansimov (power play) and Alexander Frolov scored 37 seconds apart in the first period, giving New York an early 2-0 lead. It was a strange period based on the goals and all the fighting: Sean Avery squared off vs. Marc Stuart, Shawn Thornton took on monster Derek Boogaard and Milan Lucic and Brandon Prust tangled for a second before it was broken up.

Bruins captain Zdeno Chara answered with a power play goal for the second straight game. With five seconds left in the period, his blast from the point was assisted by Mark Recchi (his partner on the back line on the power play) and Nathan Horton.

Mark Staal scored on a breakaway 48 seconds into the second period and that's all the scoring that the Rangers would need thanks to their star goaltender Henrik Lundqvist (35 saves).

Horton cut it to 3-2 later in the second with his fifth of the season, from David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg.

The third period went by without any scoring, Boston couldn't find the tying goal and New York escaped with a gift two points.

The B's are off until Thursday when Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs come to the TD Garden.

Johnny Boychuk left the game last night with a wrist injury after being slashed, so hopefully Chara's defensive partner is ok. He really came into his own in the spring during the playoffs and he would be a big loss.