NEW YORK, NEW YORK - NOVEMBER 25: Vincent Trocheck #16 of the New York Rangers celebrates a third period goal by Artemi Panarin #10 against Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2023 in New York City. The Rangers defeated the Bruins 7-4. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
Dive into the New York Rangers triumph over the Boston Bruins in a nail-biting clash, asserting their dominance as the NHL’s top team.
The NHL’s best are now wearing Blueshirts.
The Rangers and Boston Bruins, eyeing that top spot in the NHL, went head-to-head on Saturday in an Original Six bout with the eyeballs of the entire hockey world at Madison Square Garden.
When the dust settled, the Rangers earned a 7-4 victory, staking their claim as the league’s team to beat. “We weren’t feeling great coming off the back-back,” captain Jacob Trouba said, referring to the team’s 3-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Friday. “But guys rallied, and the crowd helped will us today”. The boys did rally, with thirteen different players recording points.
Under the enchantment of head coach Peter Laviolette, the Rangers (15-3-1) have been on a tear. They’re 13-1-1 in their last 15 games and have a league-leading .816 points percentage on the season. They’ve bulldozed everyone without center Filip Chytil, Norris Trophy winner, and reigning runner-up Adam Fox for the past eight games, going 6-1-1 in that span.
That said, there were no excuses for New York to have lost. “I wish that there was more of this. Laviolette said about Boston (14-3-3) and New York playing their third game in four days and coming off a back-back.
“Where we’re playing a team that did the exact same thing as us. So, there’s no excuses today. Not that there ever is. I do like it when everything is equal on the table. They did exactly what we did at the same time. Well, it’s just two teams playing a hockey game today, so we got to respond.” And respond they did.
A Special Teams Spectacle:
The MSG crowd was buzzing for the original six battle between the NHL’s elite. The Blueshirts responded early by Linus Ullmark, the reigning Vezina Trophy winner. Boston had their chance to strike first when an Erik Gustafsson giveaway led to a chance for James Van Riemsdyk. Yet pressure by Ryan Lindgren denied him a scoring chance. It proved significant when a breakout pass by Derek Fortbort to Johnny Beecher, whom Will Cuylle pressured, forced a turnover. Nick Bonino got to the loose puck, fired, and scored his first goal as a Ranger at 5:58.
The Blueshirts continued to dominate. Boston didn’t have a shot on goal for the game’s first ten minutes. The Rangers were rewarded for their puck pressure with a power play, putting themselves up against Boston’s league-best penalty kill. The way the Bruins kill penalties, applying constant pressure, the Rangers had to move the puck quickly, and they did. A point shot by Erik Gustafson was deflected by Vincent Trocheck and stopped, but the rebound was there for Chris Kreider, who scored his league-leading seventh powerplay goal of the season.
The tally and blazing start by the Blueshirts caused Boston coach Jim Montgomery to use his timeout just 10:56 into the contest. With 7:21 left, the Bruins registered their first shot on goal. Their leading scorer, David Pasternak, was kept to the outside and stopped by Jonathan Quick. He would get another one moments later, which the Rangers netminder stopped with the glove. Quick was feeling it, dropping into a butterfly and stopping Jake Debrusk.
Yet with 6:10 left. Trent Fredric took advantage of a Ryan Lindgren pinch-in and went the other way. A sliding Gustafsson stopped his pass, but he recovered and found Charlie Coyle in front, cutting Boston’s deficit in half. Then, 24 seconds later, a Morgan Geekie clapper tied it. The Bruins had turned the tide with the last eight shots and two goals.
With his boys reeling, it was Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette’s turn to call a timeout. The Rangers responded with an offensive zone press. A Pasternak turnover led to a Zac Jones shot, which hit the post, nearly giving New York the lead. Quick came up big, stopping Danton Heinen point blank after Mathew Poitras fed him from behind the net. Although Gustafsson would be penalized, putting Boston on the power play, Chris Kreider didn’t let it deter him.
Pressure by the Blueshirts’ penalty kill led captain Jacob Trouba to push the puck ahead for Kreider, who beat Ullmark on a breakaway, giving New York a 3-2 lead with 1:19 left. It marked the league-leading ninth shorty for him in three seasons when he started killing penalties. The difference in the opening frame was the Blueshirts’ special teams, which had scored a powerplay and shorthanded goal.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 25: Jimmy Vesey #26 of the New York Rangers celebrates his second period goal against the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
Bloodie Heroes and Blazing Goals:
Still on the powerplay as they started the second period, the Bruins answered 26 seconds into the frame, courtesy of Pasternak. It was Pastas’s 13th goal and 31st point of the season. He telegraphed a pass to captain Brad Marchand before beating Quick five-hole.
As the teams pushed for the go-ahead goal, a Zibanejad turnover led to a Boston odd-man rush, but Charlie Coyle shot the puck wide. It was a mistake you rarely see Zibanejad make, but that’s how contested this game was. Then another New York turnover led to Jakub Lauko chance, which Quick stopped.
Yet, with 11:21 left, a horrendous too many men penalty put the Bruins on the power play. It felt like a mistake that would prove costly, but the Blueshirts recovered. Trouba and Lindgren blocked shots, and Quick stopped a Pasternak one-timer, keeping the game tied. Boston continued to pressure at even strength, but a Cuylle block on Hampus Lindholm and a Quick stick stop on Marchand kept them at bay.
With 3:58 left, Ian Mitchell high-sticked Jimmy Vesey in front of the net. The delayed penalty allowed an extra skater to join New York’s attack. They kept the Bruins from establishing possession of the puck for 50 seconds. The relentless forechecking paid off when a bleeding Vesey chipped home a Vincent Trocheck rebound after a feed from Artemi Panarin. The blood on his face gave the Rangers a power play, turning the penalty into a double minor.
Things opened up again, and Boston nearly took advantage when a Charlie Coyle takeaway led to a Brandon Carlo chance, which Quick stopped. Then, with 26 seconds left, Trouba forced a turnover, leading to Kreider finding Zibaejad up the ice. He dropped it back for a K’Andre Miller rifle, which beat Ullmark high glove, sending the crowd into a frenzy and giving the Rangers a 5-3 lead through two periods.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – NOVEMBER 25: The New York Rangers celebrate a second-period goal by K’Andre Miller #79 against Linus Ullmark #35 of the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on November 25, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
Grinding down Beantown:
Knowing Boston would give everything they had in the third period. Peter Laviolette told his players to play smart but not be too conservative. They did just that. The “Grind Line” struck again when a Barclay Goodrow faceoff win led to a Vesey chance, which was stopped. However, Tyler Pitlick got open in the slot and scored to make it 6-3. It was the Blueshirt’s fourth line’s third goal of the day. Laviolette told them they would be a “Big factor,” and they were. Their original job was to stop the Marchand-Zacha-Pasternak line, but they were so good he put them in all situations. It seems like they’ve finally found their winning formula. “That was their job… I thought that they were terrific.”
Coyle would net his second of the game off a Quick turnover. Yet their momentum was short-lived, as Braden Schneider found Panarin for his 11th goal of the season. From there, the Rangers locked it down. Vincent Trocheck backchecked hard and blocked a Pavel Zacha feed to Pasternak. Then a Vesey block and a Trouba clear, who finished with a +4 rating today and leads the league with 67 blocked shots, stopped the press. “It starts with Jacob Trouba, who has been an absolute warrior for our team, Laviolette said. “That’s the captain of your team setting the tone.”
New York dominated the rest of the way. They imposed a 2-1-2 forecheck in the third period, which stifled Boston’s attack. As the clock wound down, the crowd serenaded the Bruins, celebrating your new top team in the NHL standings, the New York Rangers. The best part is that they haven’t played their best yet. “We all knew that we had a really good team,” K’Andre Miller said. “We can build off this. I still don’t think we’ve played our best hockey yet, which is scary and fun to say at the same time.”
