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.”