Rangers Rally Past The Bruins 2-1 At The Garden
For the second game in a row the
Rangers offense came alive in the third period Monday night at Madison
Square Garden, but unlike Saturday's overtime loss to the Washington
Capitals New York made this one stick, beating the Boston Bruins 2-1 on a
pair of goals in the final period of regulation.
The Rangers were able to win despite having to play more than half the game Monday without defenseman Dan Girardi, who suffered a lacerated right hand and headed to the dressing room at 4:55 of the second period without returning.
Trailing 1-0 after two periods of play, the Rangers struck quickly in the third to pull even on Derick Brassard's 15th goal of the season. Left alone to the left of Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, Brassard had an easy slam dunk after a slick Mats Zuccarello back hand pass on to his stick just 35 seconds into the final period.
Henrik Lundqvist kept the scored tied moments later when he made a sensational, sprawling save by kicking his right pad in the air while on his stomach to rob Max Talbot on a rebound try from point blank range.
With the spectre of a second consecutive overtime contest looming as the clock was winding down, the Rangers struck with 1:41 to play to grab a 2-1 lead. Keith Yandle collected the rebound of an errant Kevin Klein shot and fired one of his own towards the Bruins net. Jesper Fast, camped out in front, redirected Yandle's shot into the cage for his seventh goal, and the Rangers held on from there, improving their record to 4-2-1 in the last seven games.
Neither team was able to score for nearly half the game, but finally one of the Hayes brothers was able to break through at 9:04 of the second period. Unfortunately for the Rangers, it was Boston's Jimmy Hayes who tallied the goal and not New York's Kevin Hayes, and thus the Blueshirts fell behind by the score of 1-0.
The play began to take shape in the neutral zone after a turnover by Chris Kreider--back in the Rangers lineup after missing the previous two games with a hand injury. Boston's Zdeno Chara and Ryan Spooner teamed up to get the puck up ahead to Hayes who unleashed a 40-foot shot that eluded Lundqvist to the stick side, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead they would carry into the second intermission.
Prior to that goal--and after it, as a matter of fact--the Rangers and Bruins played on a pretty even terms. New York was outshot by Boston 11-10 and out-attempted by the Bruins 24-15 in the scoreless first period, before outshooting the Bruins 12-11 in the second, though the Rangers surrendered the only goal of the period.
The Bruins did have a pair of attempts hit iron over the first 40 minutes of play, as well, perhaps making it fortunate for the home team that it only trailed by a single goal. Spooner broke in on Lundqvist after leaving Kreider sprawled in his wake 15:42 into the first period, but his in-close shot hit the right post. Then at 19:03 of the second Boston's Brett Connolly grabbed a rebound in the slot and fired a shot off the left post.
Meanwhile two of the Rangers best scoring opportunities failed to register shots on goal, as well. Kreider had his stick snap in two as he set to shoot during a good-looking 3-on-2 rush early in the second period, and minutes later Viktor Stalberg--who entered play with three goals in his last four games--missed another when he misfired on a wide-open one-timer from right wing with Rask scrambling and out of his crease.
Stalberg had another great opportunity in the third period after Brassard had tied the score, but his in-tight right-wing shot hit the far post, coming within inches of giving New York its first lead of the night.
FINAL STATS
NY RANGERS 2 BOSTON BRUINS 1
Scoring Summary
1st Period
NONE
2nd Period
09:04 BOS Jimmy Hayes (10) Snap shot - ASST: Ryan Spooner (20), Zdeno Chara (17) 1 - 0 BOS
3rd Period
00:35 NYR Derick Brassard (15) Wrist shot - ASST: Mats Zuccarello (16), Ryan McDonagh (15) 1 - 1 Tie
18:18 NYR Jesper Fast (7) Tip-in - ASST: Keith Yandle (21), Kevin Klein (6) 2 - 1 NYR
Penalty Summary
1st Period
08:56 NYR Jayson Megna Hi-sticking - 2 min against Ryan Spooner
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
NONE
shots by period
Period BOS NYR
1st 11 10
2nd 11 12
3rd 11 8
Total 33 30
Team Stats
Category BOS NYR
Power Plays 0/1 0/0
Hits 24 30
Faceoff Wins 27 25
Giveaways 3 14
Takeaways 4 7
Blocked Shots 8 24
Penalty Minutes 0 2
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. NYR JESPER FAST
2. NYR MATS ZUCCARELLO
3. BOS JIMMY HAYES
THE NY RANGERS BROADWAY HAT GOES TO #19 JESPER FAST
NEXT GAME:
THURSDAY JANUARY 14th 7:00 PM NY RANGERS AT NY ISLANDERS
The Rangers were able to win despite having to play more than half the game Monday without defenseman Dan Girardi, who suffered a lacerated right hand and headed to the dressing room at 4:55 of the second period without returning.
Trailing 1-0 after two periods of play, the Rangers struck quickly in the third to pull even on Derick Brassard's 15th goal of the season. Left alone to the left of Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, Brassard had an easy slam dunk after a slick Mats Zuccarello back hand pass on to his stick just 35 seconds into the final period.
Henrik Lundqvist kept the scored tied moments later when he made a sensational, sprawling save by kicking his right pad in the air while on his stomach to rob Max Talbot on a rebound try from point blank range.
With the spectre of a second consecutive overtime contest looming as the clock was winding down, the Rangers struck with 1:41 to play to grab a 2-1 lead. Keith Yandle collected the rebound of an errant Kevin Klein shot and fired one of his own towards the Bruins net. Jesper Fast, camped out in front, redirected Yandle's shot into the cage for his seventh goal, and the Rangers held on from there, improving their record to 4-2-1 in the last seven games.
Neither team was able to score for nearly half the game, but finally one of the Hayes brothers was able to break through at 9:04 of the second period. Unfortunately for the Rangers, it was Boston's Jimmy Hayes who tallied the goal and not New York's Kevin Hayes, and thus the Blueshirts fell behind by the score of 1-0.
The play began to take shape in the neutral zone after a turnover by Chris Kreider--back in the Rangers lineup after missing the previous two games with a hand injury. Boston's Zdeno Chara and Ryan Spooner teamed up to get the puck up ahead to Hayes who unleashed a 40-foot shot that eluded Lundqvist to the stick side, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead they would carry into the second intermission.
Prior to that goal--and after it, as a matter of fact--the Rangers and Bruins played on a pretty even terms. New York was outshot by Boston 11-10 and out-attempted by the Bruins 24-15 in the scoreless first period, before outshooting the Bruins 12-11 in the second, though the Rangers surrendered the only goal of the period.
The Bruins did have a pair of attempts hit iron over the first 40 minutes of play, as well, perhaps making it fortunate for the home team that it only trailed by a single goal. Spooner broke in on Lundqvist after leaving Kreider sprawled in his wake 15:42 into the first period, but his in-close shot hit the right post. Then at 19:03 of the second Boston's Brett Connolly grabbed a rebound in the slot and fired a shot off the left post.
Meanwhile two of the Rangers best scoring opportunities failed to register shots on goal, as well. Kreider had his stick snap in two as he set to shoot during a good-looking 3-on-2 rush early in the second period, and minutes later Viktor Stalberg--who entered play with three goals in his last four games--missed another when he misfired on a wide-open one-timer from right wing with Rask scrambling and out of his crease.
Stalberg had another great opportunity in the third period after Brassard had tied the score, but his in-tight right-wing shot hit the far post, coming within inches of giving New York its first lead of the night.
FINAL STATS
NY RANGERS 2 BOSTON BRUINS 1
Scoring Summary
1st Period
NONE
2nd Period
09:04 BOS Jimmy Hayes (10) Snap shot - ASST: Ryan Spooner (20), Zdeno Chara (17) 1 - 0 BOS
3rd Period
00:35 NYR Derick Brassard (15) Wrist shot - ASST: Mats Zuccarello (16), Ryan McDonagh (15) 1 - 1 Tie
18:18 NYR Jesper Fast (7) Tip-in - ASST: Keith Yandle (21), Kevin Klein (6) 2 - 1 NYR
Penalty Summary
1st Period
08:56 NYR Jayson Megna Hi-sticking - 2 min against Ryan Spooner
2nd Period
NONE
3rd Period
NONE
shots by period
Period BOS NYR
1st 11 10
2nd 11 12
3rd 11 8
Total 33 30
Team Stats
Category BOS NYR
Power Plays 0/1 0/0
Hits 24 30
Faceoff Wins 27 25
Giveaways 3 14
Takeaways 4 7
Blocked Shots 8 24
Penalty Minutes 0 2
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
1. NYR JESPER FAST
2. NYR MATS ZUCCARELLO
3. BOS JIMMY HAYES
NEXT GAME:
THURSDAY JANUARY 14th 7:00 PM NY RANGERS AT NY ISLANDERS
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