New York Rangers vs Boston Bruins: After The Horn

Adam Hunger-USA TODAY Sports

Final Score: New York Rangers 3 Boston Bruins 6

First Period:

The teams started out as you might anticipate, keeping things close but it didn’t stay that way long.

drilled a shot past

at the 3:20 mark.It looked a little something like this:

The Rangers went to the power play just after the goal but were unable to convert as Johnny Boychuck sat in the box after interfering with Dominic Moore. With just over 11 minutes remaining in the period Derek Stepan had a close call but Rask denied his goal. There were many very good attempts in rapid succession as the Rangers tested Rask early. Miller showed constant pressure on the goal throughout the period and Chris Kreider missed an open net on his break away. Late in the period the Bruins started to get a little bit of pressure on Henrik Lundqvist. Frustrations mounted and Jerome Iginla got tied up with Marc Staal after the whistle. Iginla turned around and put the Bruins on the board after 18:07 of play. The teams went to the dressing rooms tied on the score board with the Rangers leading in shots 20-9.

Second Period:

The period started the way it ended. Both teams came out on a mission and they were moving fast. Carcillo got separated from Joe Thornton; more mouth running than anything else. With a huge mess on the ice, Dougie Hamilton managed to get a puck past Lundqvist at 4:54. Less than a minute later, Chris Kelley took a forced break to the penalty box for shoving Miller into the goal tender. The Rangers were again unable to convert on the power play. For some reason during the power play Zdeno Chara felt the need to put Ryan McDonagh into a headlock. Just after the power play expired, Carl Soderberg increased the Bruin’s lead to 3-1 with a goal at the 9:34 mark. The Rangers got back on it and started forcing repeated turnovers which led up to Brad Richards finding the back of the net after 16:53 past by in the period. With 28 seconds remaining in the period Ryan McDonagh and Brad Marchand had words and each got sent to the box for matching high sticking minors; not until after Brassard jumped in the middle to keep McDonagh safe. The Rangers let the Bruins push them around a little too much and paid for it on the score board.  The teams headed to the intermission with the Rangers down 3-2 but up in shots 14-12.

Third Period:

Just as you would expect from these teams, they came out fast and playing hard. the speed and pace of the game were fast. Benoit Pouliot, the former Bruin, had a close call around the four-minute mark as he beat the defense  but went just wide of the net. The referees decided to let the teams play as they kept their whistles quiet for both teams who were grabbing and pulling at each other. They had no choice but to put Hamilton in the box for a delay of game at 8:02 as he flipped the puck out of play. The Rangers hit the post through traffic and the puck found the net behind Lundqvist on a short hand goal for Gregory Campbell at the 9:04 mark. The Bruins continued the pressure and forced the Rangers to turn the puck over a lot. Campbell got his second goal in a row after the puck went off his skate. After a review, the goal was allowed…. Carcillo managed to draw a penalty as Torey Krug went to the box for roughing at 15:13. McDonagh scored at 15:18 to bring them within two.  The Bruins answered right back with a deflection by Milan Lucic to seal the game 6-3. The Rangers out shot Boston 42-33 but it wasn’t enough. 

Team Stats:

Three Stars:

3- Jarome Iginla

2- Dougie Hamilton

1- Tuukka Rask

Cement Pucks:

Where do I even begin? It was a huge mess on the ice and a “do over” wouldn’t even help out any. Some days you just have to tip your hat to a goalie who carries his team, Rask did exactly that tonight.

The Rangers don’t play again until Wednesday 5 March, at 7:00pm; after the trade deadline. They host the Toronto Maple Leafs.