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New York Rangers: Lindgren the new Girardi, other takeaways

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: The New York Rangers leave the ice following a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 16: The New York Rangers leave the ice following a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2020 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 16: The New York Rangers celebrate a third period goal by Mika Zibanejad #93 against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2020 in New York City. The Bruins defeated the Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – FEBRUARY 16: The New York Rangers celebrate a third period goal by Mika Zibanejad #93 against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on February 16, 2020 in New York City. The Bruins defeated the Rangers 3-1. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

You live and die by your special teams and the New York Rangers fell on that sword to the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

After winning four consecutive games – their longest win streak of the year – the New York Rangers were forced to taste that losing feeling again at Madison Square Garden.

Going up against an elite team in the Bruins, the Blueshirts actually played a solid game but they were punished for not executing on special teams.

Although they did stop what was the 2nd best power play in the NHL on two occasions, the Rangers went 1-for-5 on the power play while they also allowed a shorthanded goal.

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You can’t afford to only convert one of five power play opportunities against one of the best teams in the National Hockey League, and Sunday was a dose of reality for the Rangers.

Charlie McAvoy started the damage late  in the first period as the defenseman settled a loose puck at the point, before getting a shot through traffic that bounced off Jacob Trouba and over the shoulder of Alexandar Georgiev.

It was both a bizarre and ugly goal and one that perhaps best summed up the game for the Rangers.

After whiffing on a four-minute power play, the Blueshirts had another opportunity on the man advantage but that one also turned out to be a disaster as Charlie Coyle stripped the puck from Jacob Trouba before racing away on a breakaway and beating Georgiev.

Boston came into the game with the best defense in the NHL in terms of Goals Against Per Game (2.32), and it showed as they continued to frustrate their hosts.

However, the Rangers did eventually light the lamp in the third period as Mika Zibanejad unleashed a shot from the point on the power play with Pavel Buchnevich providing the screen in-front.

That sparked the MSG crowd into life as fresh energy reverberated around the building, but the Rangers couldn’t take advantage and Patrice Bergeron iced the game for the Boston Bruins with an empty-netter.

This was a tough one for the New York Rangers to drop given the run they were on, and we had some takeaways from the contest…

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