BSJ Game Report: Bruins 3, Rangers 1 - B’s PK shines in win over New York

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 3-1 win over the Rangers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

The rebuilding Rangers might sit near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, but the Blueshirts’ woes this season have not been a byproduct of a sluggish offense, to say the least.

With key cogs like Artemi Panarin, Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad leading the way up front, New York can score with the best of ‘em — boasting the eighth-ranked offense (3.28 goals per game) and the sixth-ranked man advantage (23.3 percent success rate). 

But, as has been the case for most of the 2019-20 campaign, a potent power play was stumped by a stout Bruins penalty-kill unit for most of Sunday afternoon — as Boston limited New York to just one tally on five power-play bids in what was an eventual 3-1 win for Boston at Madison Square Garden. 

With the win, Boston has now won nine of its last 10 games and improves to 37-11-12 on the season. Charlie McAvoy, Charlie Coyle and Patrice Bergeron all lit the lamp for the B’s, while Jaroslav Halak finished the contest with 25 saves in net. 

While New York finally cashed in on their fifth and final power play of the afternoon, the Rangers fumbled multiple attempts to get their punches in against Halak — with the Blueshirts only generating two high-danger scoring chances and surrendering four shots against over 8:36 of 5v4 TOI.

After a fairly even opening 19 minutes of play, Boston took a late lead with just 42 seconds remaining in the first — with McAvoy firing in a shot from the blue line that bounced high and over Rangers goalie Alexandar Georgiev to put Boston on the board. 

Coyle secured the eventual game-winner during a PK shift in the second period, picking off a pass intended for Jacob Trouba and beating Georgiev on a breakaway at 18:42 — securing Boston’s second shorthanded goal in as many games. 

Zibanejad finally snapped Boston’s PK dominance with a power-play laser from the point at 9:52 in the final period, but that was all that New York was able to muster — with Bergeron capping off the win with an empty netter with 13 seconds to go in regulation.  

THREE UP

Charlie McAvoy: Don’t let McAvoy get hot. After catching plenty of flak through the first four months of the season for failing to light the lamp, McAvoy has now scored in two straight games and three of his last six contests. His tally against New York might have been a fortunate bounce, but sooner or later, puck luck was going to fall back on his side this season. Aside from his offensive contributions, McAvoy was once a horse down the other end of the ice, negating Rangers zone entries while logging 24:52 of ice time. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1229151685060255744

Penalty kill: Boston’s PK had its way against the Rangers’ man advantage for most of the afternoon, headlined by Charlie Coyle’s shorthanded strike in the second — marking Boston’s second consecutive game with a shorty. Even more impressive was the play of the shorthanded unit after David Krejci was assessed a double minor for high sticking at 5:06 in the second period. Despite a golden opportunity to secure the equalizer, New York only managed to land two shots on goal during those four minutes of 5v4 ice time, while Boston even landed a shot on goal during that stretch — off the stick of Jeremy Lauzon at 6:29. 



Jaroslav Halak: After a nagging injury sidelined Halak for the past four games, the B’s backup netminder impressed on Sunday in his first taste of game action since Feb. 5. While his shot volume may not have been all that heavy, Halak still managed to stop nine of the 10 high-danger shots that came his way. 

TWO DOWN

Power play: While Boston’s PK impressed for most of the afternoon, the B’s man advantage was another story, going 0-for-2 against New York. Boston is now stuck in a brief 0-for-5 skid on the power play, but the chances have been there — given that Boston still managed to generate 13 shot attempts in just 4:00 of 5v4 ice time on Sunday. 

Anders Bjork: Bit of a no-show performance from Bjork on Sunday, as the winger logged a team-low 10:20 of ice time and landed zero shots on goal against New York. With the trade deadline around the corner and some vacancies on the wing potentially set to be locked up in the coming days, Bjork will need to fight to maintain his current spot on the Coyle line, especially with both Karson Kuhlman and Danton Heinen in the mix.

PLAY OF THE GAME

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PARTING THOUGHTS

Looks like Brad Marchand and Ryan Lindgren aren’t going to be exchanging Christmas cards this winter:

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1229195001944530944

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1229164620138582017

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head west for a three-game trek in Canada, starting with a matchup against the McDavid-less Edmonton Oilers on Wednesday night. Puck drop is set for 8:30 p.m.