Rangers vs Bruins: Rangers Tie Game Late But Fall In Overtime to Bruins

The New York Rangers went punch for punch this evening with the red-hot Boston Bruins, but came out on the losing end with a 3-2 loss in overtime. New York continued to play inspired hockey, but despite carrying the play in the latter half of the third period, strong goaltending ended up being their kryptonite once again.

1st Period

Julien Gauthier (1) - Brendan Lemieux (2) - 13:50

The Rangers ended up coming away with the opening goal in this game and it came as a result of an offensive zone faceoff win. Brendan Lemieux was able to put pressure on the puck below the goal line and muscled the puck out to the front of the crease. Julien Gauthier drove the net with his stick on the ice, and shoveled the puck under the crossbar for his first career NHL goal.

2nd Period

Chris Wagner (2) - Unassisted - 9:41

New York’s power play was dominant again tonight with their puck possession in the offensive zone, but one miscue by Artemi Panarin led to a shorthanded goal against. Chris Wagner was able to jump the passing lane up towards the blue line, and wound up deflecting the puck past Panarin. Wagner was able to chase down the loose puck, break in alone on Alexandar Georgiev and tied up the game for Boston.

3rd Period

Anders Bjork (1) - Jake DeBrusk & Kevan Miller (2) - 9:00

Just before we reached the halfway mark of the third period, the Bruins jumped out to their first lead of the night courtesy of Anders Bjork. Following a strong shift in the offensive zone, Bjork was able to make play in the right corner, and got the puck down low to Jake DeBrusk. Jacob Trouba lost his footing as the two players came together, and Bjork was able to break free in front of the net. Jake Debrusk immediately saw the lane open up, and tapped the puck out front to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead.

Kevin Rooney (3) - Brendan Lemieux (3) & Ryan Lindgren (3) - 11:22

Despite giving up a late go-ahead goal, the Rangers kept on pushing and eventually tied the game a little over two minutes after the Bruins’ tally. Brendan Lemieux was able to get a deflection on Ryan Lindgren’s point shot, and the rebound dropped right into the crease. Kevin Rooney was standing in the perfect spot to tap the loose puck past Tuukka Rask. The goal wound up going to review because the puck made contact with Lemieux’s stick above the crossbar. However, because the puck touched both Brandon Carlo and Tuukka Rask before Rooney took the shot, that negated the original high stick.

Overtime

Brad Marchand (8) - Charlie McAvoy (10) & Patrice Bergeron (10) - 0:36

New York had a golden opportunity to end the game in the opening minute of overtime, but it actually wound up working against them. Pavel Buchnevich and Adam Fox were able to generate a 2-on-1 rush out of the defensive zone, but Charlie McAvoy made an excellent defensive play. Mika Zibanejad, who was the lone player back, joined the rush late and left Brad Marchand all alone behind him. McAvoy was able to quickly flip the puck up ice for the breakaway and Marchand finishing it off with a quick shot to beat Georgiev blocker side.

By all accounts, tonight was an entertaining game and the Rangers stuck with one of the better teams in the league all throughout the game. The results haven’t been there despite the Rangers playing well, but the biggest takeaway is that they are consistently playing at a high level.

New York will have a shot at redemption on Friday night as they close out their two-game set with the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden.