With the score tied 2-2 and nearing the midway point of the third period, the Rangers were awarded a power play when Boston's Brad Marchand skated by Henrik Lundqvist's crease, making contact with Lundqvist's head with his knee, sending the Rangers netminder sprawling on the ice. New York then scored on the ensuing power play to grab a one-goal lead.
J.T. Miller camped in front of the Boston net and deflected a Keith Yandle shot off the post, off Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, and over the goal line at 9:28. Miller's fourth goal was also his first power play point of the season, and couldn't have come at a better time.
However the resilient Bruins and their NHL-best power play pulled even at 16:14 with New York's Jesper Fast sitting in the penalty box. Ryan Spooner scored his fifth goal, scoring on a rebound, tying the game with the Bruins' second power play goal of the afternoon.
Two minutes later a David Krejci slap shot hit a Rangers' stick and redirected past Lundqvist with 1:43 to play in regulation, a stunning turn of events which went decidedly against New York.
The two teams had reached the third period tied 2-2, a somewhat unfortunate turn of events for the Rangers leading to Boston scoring the equalizer midway through the second period.
After falling behind 1-0 in the first, the Rangers scored twice early in the middle period to grab a 2-1 lead. Then at 8:06 Boston's Matt Beleskey delivered a hard--and arguably late--hit which lifted Derek Stepan off his skates and sent him flying into the boards. While a dazed Stepan collected himself, rookie defenseman Dylan McIlrath jumped to his defense, pummeling Beleskey in a one-sided fight near the penalty boxes.
When the dust settled McIlrath was penalized 17 minutes--two minutes for instigating, five for fighting, and a ten minute misconduct--and Beleskey was only assessed the five minute fighting major. Handed a two-minute man advantage the Bruins power play scored the tying goal, Brett Connolly scoring his fifth goal at 9:34, tying the score 2-2.
That score held up into the second intermission only because Lundqvist made a sharp save as the buzzer sounded after his teammates seemingly had slowed down on the play.
Lundqvist had opened the game with a pair of highlight-reel saves--one at 1:58 when he stoned Jonas Kemppainen's breakaway and another at 3:30 when he robbed a wide-open Loui Eriksson from point-blank range.
As for Stepan, he was able to take his regular shifts--including on the PK before Connolly scored--to close out the second period, but he did not come out for the third and did not play the rest of the afternoon.
After spotting Boston a 1-0 lead, on a Patrice Bergeron goal 14:45 into the game, the Rangers got going early in the second. Oscar Lindberg scored his first goal in ten games, coming out of the corner with the puck, dancing around a pair of attempted checks, and then proceeding to wrist a shot past Rask at 2:10 of the second. The game-tying score was Lindberg's eighth goal of the season and was assisted by Miller and Fast.
The red-hot Rick Nash gave New York the lead at 5:15, scoring his eighth goal--and sixth in the past four games. Ryan McDonagh kept the puck in at the Bruins blue line and whipped a pass to the open Nash above Rask's crease. Nash settled the puck, make a pair of dekes, and then deposited the puck into the back of the net just as Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg crushed him from behind and on top of Rask.
The Rangers are right back at it Saturday afternoon when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden.
FINAL BOXSCORE:
FINAL NYR 3 BOS 4
Scoring Summary
1st Period
14:15 BOS Patrice Bergeron (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Torey Krug (12) 1 - 0 BOS
2nd Period
02:10 NYR Oscar Lindberg (8) Wrist shot - ASST: J.T. Miller (8), Jesper Fast (3) 1 - 1 Tie
05:15 NYR Rick Nash (8) Wrist shot - ASST: Ryan McDonagh (7) 2 - 1 NYR
09:34 BOS PPG - Brett Connolly (5) Wrist shot - ASST: Colin Miller (8), Jimmy Hayes (8) 2 - 2 Tie
3rd Period
09:28 NYR PPG - J.T. Miller (4) Wrist shot - ASST: Keith Yandle (11), Kevin Klein (3) 3 - 2 NYR
16:14 BOS PPG - Ryan Spooner (5) ASST: Loui Eriksson (11), Torey Krug (13) 3 - 3 Tie
18:17 BOS David Krejci (9) Slapshot - ASST: NONE 4 - 3 BOS
Penalty Summary
1st Period
10:18 BOS Colin Miller Hooking - 2 min against Derick Brassard
2nd Period
08:06 NYR Dylan McIlrath Misconduct (10 min) - 10 min against Matt Beleskey
08:06 NYR Dylan McIlrath Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Matt Beleskey
08:06 BOS Matt Beleskey Fighting (maj) - 5 min against Dylan McIlrath
08:06 NYR Dylan McIlrath served by Chris Kreider Instigator - 2 min against Matt Beleskey
17:02 BOS Brett Connolly Too many men/ice - bench - 2 min
3rd Period
03:22 NYR Derick Brassard Tripping - 2 min against Dennis Seidenberg
07:59 BOS Brad Marchand Interference on goalkeeper - 2 min against Henrik Lundqvist
14:54 NYR Jesper Fast Holding - 2 min against Colin Miller
shots by period
Period NYR BOS
1st 7 12
2nd 10 11
3rd 10 11
Total 27 34
Team Stats
Category NYR BOS
Power Plays 1/3 2/3
Hits 23 24
Faceoff Wins 30 30
Giveaways 9 6
Takeaways 11 1
Blocked Shots 15 13
Penalty Minutes 21 11
NEXT GAME: TOMORROW 1:30 PM FLYERS @ RANGERS
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