Unheralded New York Rangers: Brian Boyle

Brian Boyle was a key contributor to the New York Rangers during their playoff runs of the 2010s.

When people think about Brian Boyle, they think about his courageous battle with cancer and his ability to battle the disease and continue playing hockey. But before the  6 foot 6 inch forward was a household name due to his perseverance, he was an unheralded member of the New York Rangers from 2009-2015.

Boyle anchored a fourth line that was a crucial factor in New York’s success during the height of the Rangers’ years of playoff contention. His ability to do the little things, such as puck retrieval and shot-blocking, endeared him to the Rangers faithful.

With 187 hits in 58 playoff games with the New York Rangers, Boyle’s ability to play the role of the pest broke down the will of opposing defenses, opening up the ice for the more skilled forwards to go to work. His 73 blocked shots during that same time frame, the majority of which came on the penalty kill, were demonstrative of the fearlessness with which Boyle personified both on the ice and off of it.

Over the course of his Rangers tenure, Boyle skated in 355 games, by far the most out of the seven stops he has made throughout his career. During that stretch, the Hingham, Massachusetts native tallied 44 goals and 46 assists for 90 points.

But of course, the numbers that truly define Boyle’s grit and a knack for the limelight are the number of game-winning goals, shot blocks, and hits he tallied over his 355 Rangers games. He scored seven game-winners, blocked 294 shots, and dished out 918 hits.

Rarely does a player the size of Boyle move as well as the center did, but his lateral quickness and superb first step made him a valuable commodity for the New York Rangers, especially on the penalty kill during the postseason. In fact, one of Boyle’s most crucial goes for the Blueshirts came while shorthanded in the Stanley Cup Finals.

You can see towards the end of the video, the quick lateral stutter-step freed up enough space around one of the league’s premier defensemen in Drew Doughty. It’s that sneaky ability and exquisite hockey smarts that has allowed the forward to have the long NHL career he has had.

The stage of that shorthanded tally does not get any bigger, but the biggest moment of Boyle’s New York Rangers tenure came the series prior, on the same goal that our last unheralded Ranger, Dominic Moore, stashed home.

That finish is only possible by the brilliance of Boyle’s vision, spinning an firing a pass right onto Moore’s tape, allowing him to easily beat the Canadiens goaltender.

When people discuss the Cup run of 2014, they talk about Martin St. Louis, Henrik Lundqvist, Ryan McDonagh and Derick Brassard. But Brian Boyle, who will forever fly under the radar, allowed the Blueshirts to have the success that they did, and thus he deserves to be mentioned as an unheralded Ranger.