Meh, Rangers lose 3-1 to the Bruins

About the game

The Rangers played the Bruins pretty evenly in the first period, outshooting the Bruins 12-10  The Blueshirts’ forecheck kept Boston hemmed in for extended periods, but Ullmark made some excellent saves to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.   The Rangers had one power play oportunity while the Bruins had two.

Pastrnak scored with just 35 seconds left in the period, off a nice transition play started by Hampus Lindholm.  The Rangers were caught up ice and Pastrnak was wide open for the one-timer at the side of the net.

The second period was much more one-sided in the Bruin’s favor in the second period.  Boston got off to a great start when Taylor Hall scored just 67 seconds into the period for the 2-0 lead. It came off a bad turnover in the Rangers zone when Adam Fox tried an ill-advised pass that was intercepted, giving Hall the breakaway that Shesterkin couldn’t stop.  That jumpstarted the Bruins who had 11 of the next 14 shots on goal.

Igor Shesterkin did his best work as the Bruins poured it on and he made some key saves to keep the Rangers in the game as Boston outshot New York 18-10.

The Rangers came to life in the third period and finally got on the scoreboard when they were handed back to back power plays. Ullmark took the first penalty when he shot the puck into the stands.   When Brandon Carlo hooked Alexis Lafreniere, it led to a Rangers goal as the disorganized Bruins defense allowed the power play goal on a point blank shot from Mik Zibanejad.

The goal came at 2:58 and the Rangers had a life.

The Rangers had another full two minute power play, but they never got organized and wasted the man advantage.   New York continued to apply pressure, but at 9:37, Trent Frederic scored the backbreaker after a series of breaks for the Bruins.  The Rangers had two excellent shifts in the attacking zone and the Bruins got the puck and fired it down the ice.  The puck skipped off Charlie McAvoy to negate an icing.  As the puck bounced off the end boards,  Craig Smith took a one-timer slap shot that Shesterkin stopped, but the puck rebounded right to Frederic who shot it.

Shesterkin got a piece of it, but it trickled into the net.  Puck luck though the Rangers forwards did not do a great job getting back.

The Rangers had several excellent scoring opportunities including excellent looks by Ryan Strome and Frank Vatrano, but they couldn’t put one past Ullmark.

They pulled Shesterkin with over three minutes left in the game, but they couldn’t score.

Here is an extended video recap of the game:

Notes on the game

• With the loss, the Rangers are 51-22-6 and will have to win two of their last three games to equal the franchise record for most wins in a season.  Five out of six points will tie the record for most points in a season.
• With one more game left (against Montreal), the Rangers have a record of 19-3-1 against the Atlantic Division.
• The Rangers finished the road portion of their season, finishing 25-14-2.   It was their best road record since 2016-17 when they went 27-12-2.
• The Rangers’ power play accounted for the only goal of the game, coming on a delayed penalty while already on the power play.  They went 1-3 and are third overall in the NHL at 26.2%.   They have now scored with the man advantage in four straight after not scoring in four consecutive games.
• The penalty kill was a perfect 3-3 and has not allowed a PP goal in 10 of their last 11 games and have allowed only one power play goal in their last 24 times shorthanded. They are eighth overall at 82%.
• Chris Kreider didn’t score a goal and Artemi Panarin didn’t get a point so their pursuit of individual goals was stymied.  Kreider needs three goals in his last three games to tie Jaromir Jagr’s franchise record of 54.  Panarin needs four points in the last three games to reach 100 points for the first time.
• Igor Shesterkin stopped 32 of 35 shots and still leads the league with a 2.03 goals against average and .936 save percentage.
• The Rangers were without Andrew Copp and Filip Chytil and their loss as felt especially at the end of the game when they pulled Shesterkin.  The Strome line was also less effective with Dryden Hunt replacing Copp.
• Charlie McAvoy threw a nasty check from behind on his childhood buddy, Adam Fox. Dryden Hunt retaliated immediately by tackling him and both Hunt and McAvoy got roughing minors.
• The Rangers took a too many men on the ice bench minor in the first period, the fourth time that has happened this season. It was marginal call as the Ranger was headed to the bench when the extra player jumped on the ice a little early. It really didn’t affect play.   If there is any indication that the coaching is more disciplined, the four times in 79 games compares to the seven times in 56 games last season, the eight times in 71 games the year before and the absolutely absurd 14 times in 2018-19. The good news is that they have killed off the last 10 bench minors that they have taken.
• The Rangers finished the season series with a 2-1-0 record against the Bruins. This was the first time that they have won the season series in three years.

My 3 Ranger stars

1. Picking three Rangers stars is not an easy task this game since no one player stood out.  That said, Alexis Lafreniere played a strong game, hard on the forecheck and he drew the penalty that led to their only goal.  He got some deserved ice time at the end of the game when the Rangers pulled Shesterkin.
2. K’Andre Miller overcame a shaky start to have an excellent game on defense.  He is definitely throwing the body more leading the team with five hits.  He also blocked three shots and was eager to join the offense and had some good scoring chances.
3. Mika Zibanejad scored the Rangers’ only goal while leading the team with five shots and he led all forwards with 23:34 minutes of ice time. He also had two blocked shots, two hits and three takeaways.

The official 3 stars

1. David Pastrnak – Bruins
2. Linus Ullmark – Bruins
3. Charlie McAvoy – Bruins

What’s next

The next game is  biggie as the Rangers host the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday night.  The Blueshirts will be anywhere from two to four points behind them in the fight for first place.  If the Canes can beat the Islanders on Sunday, they can clinch first place with a win over the Rangers.

The Rangers then host the Montreal Canadiens on Wedneday night before wrappoing up the regular season on Friday versus Washington.