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.

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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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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.

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