New York Rangers Outscore the Boston Bruins in Matinee on Broadway
In a weird and whacky game, the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 7-4 on home ice to make it three straight wins, and move to 13-1-1 in their last 15. This Rangers roster is the hottest team in the NHL right now, and the Blueshirts faithful at the Garden for this matinee on Broadway were rewarded.
New York started well when Nick Bonino was able to locate a loose puck in the high slot. A fadeaway shot heading back to the blueline went in past Linus Ullmark for his first as a New York Ranger, and suddenly, the Blueshurts had a lead. Another game where the Rangers score first, and that first goal has been a crucial part of the Rangers’ success, and it meant a lot to Bonino, the former Boston University guy scoring against the Bruins.
On the powerplay, the New York Rangers would strike again. Chris Kreider would find himself in his office to tap the puck home after it squeaked through Linus Ullmark as the Rangers were able to double the Rangers lead. Erik Gustafsson set up Vincent Trocheck, and Ullmark couldn’t hold it. It’s a 2-0 lead for the Rangers, and all is good, right? Oh, if life with this team was that simple.
Jim Montgomery called his timeout to try and halt the Rangers’ momentum, and it worked effectively. James van Riemsdyk and Trent Frederic were able to set up Charlie Coyle to get the Bruins on the board. A 2-1 Rangers lead and the Bruins suddenly have life. New York suddenly looked like a team that was trying not to break defensively.
That lasted all of about 20 seconds as Morgan Geekie hit a one-timer that might have taken Jonathan Quick’s glove off had he gotten on the end of it, and it was a tie game. Peter Laviolette called his own time out to try and get a response from the Blueshirts, sensing that it was a critical moment in this game. This was less than 15 minutes in, and both timeouts were burned.
Kreider would restore the Rangers lead shorthanded before the end of the first. Jacob Trouba was able to throw the puck up the ice after Kreider got into a position to win the footrace to the Bruins’ net. Kreider, in all alone on Linus Ullmark, beats the Swede, and the Rangers lead once again, thanks to their special teams. In this back-and-forth first period, the Rangers finding another one wasn’t lost on the coaching staff.
Early in the second, David Pastrnak would receive a pass from Pavel Zacha on the boards in acres of space. He walks in on Quick and beats him five-hole on a shot that I think he’d like to have back. It’s a 3-3 game early in the second, and the Rangers have to find a way to do it all over again if they want to take the win tonight.
On a delayed penalty late in the second, the Rangers would start to pull out the Harlem Globetrotters routine. Jimmy Vesey knocked the puck home on a rebound off a shot from Trocheck, and the Rangers managed to regain their lead. This game was incredible to this point, as we were not even at the second intermission as the Boston kid haunted his boyhood club.
K’Andre Miller would then get in on the fun before the second intermission. Miller found Chris Kreider on the far side, who tapped it back to Mika Zibanejad. Mika left it for K’Andre, and Miller roofed it past Ullmark to restore the Rangers two goal lead and make it a 5-3 lead before the end of the second. A little more room between the Rangers and Bruins will never go amiss.
Tyler Pitlick would make it a 6-3 Rangers lead early in the third. A shot off the faceoff would bounce back into the circle for Barclay Goodrow to fight for it. He’d manage to get the puck over to Vesey, who would somehow get the puck over to Pitlick for his first goal as a member of the New York Rangers. A sizeable lead early in the third and another goal from the fourth line as the Rangers’ depth strikes again.
Charlie Coyle would get that goal back for the Bruins quickly. Zac Jones lost a puck battle, and the Bruins were able to capitalize. Van Riemsdyk and Coyle were in alone, and JvR played a perfect pass over to Cole for his second of the game, and the three-goal lead the Rangers had was already gone. It was going to be a tense final 17 minutes and change for the Blueshirts.
That was until Artemi Panarin remembered he had not been heard from in this one. An explosive one entry from Trocheck leads to the Rangers being able to set up and sustain pressure. Zac Jones found Braden Schnieder, who hit a perfect pass over to Panarin, and he just buried it. It was now 7-4 Rangers, and the Blueshirts had that three-goal lead back.
As the seconds ticked off, the Rangers wasted more chances. They could have put double digits up tonight on one of their oldest rivals, but they were unable to run the score up any more than the seven they collected. As the final horn sounded at the Garden, the Rangers also moved into a commanding position in the division. It’s going to be a fun season in Manhattan.