BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Rangers 0 - DeBrusk, Krejci break through as B's shut out Rangers

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-0 win over the Rangers in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

Bruins take care of business

Boston's big guns might have set the tone in the first period of Thursday's matchup against the Rangers, but the contributions of a number of maligned, snake-bit skaters put an emphatic stamp on what was an encouraging 4-0 win for the Bruins over the Blueshirts.

David Pastrnak, Patrice Bergeron, David Krejci and Jake DeBrusk all scored for the Bruins, who knocked New York netminder Alexandar Georgiev out of the contest in the early minutes of the second after DeBrusk tallied his first 5v5, regular-season goal since March 3, 2020. Jaroslav Halak, starting for the second straight game, stopped all 28 shots that came his way, with the B's improving to 14-6-4 on the year.

Boston's top line threw its weight around in the opening 20 minutes, with Pastrnak burying his 12th goal of the season off of a long-range missile just 4:14 into regulation.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370167026749222914

A tripping call against Nick Ritchie in the closing minutes of the first opened the door for the Rangers to secure the equalizer, but the dynamic PK duo of Marchand and Bergeron had other plans — with Marchand completely un-dressing Pavel Buchnevich on the shorthanded counter-rush before setting up Bergeron for an easy tally from the blue paint.

Boston's PK was complimented by its man advantage in the following frame, as David Krejci lit the lamp for the first time this season (in his 20th game) off of a howitzer from deep, giving Boston a 3-0 lead at the time. At even-strength action, a strong forechecking shift from Krejci paid dividends later in the second, with the veteran pivot retrieving a puck and threading a feed over to a lurking DeBrusk — who promptly fired one into twine for his second goal of the season.

All in all, it was about as complete of an effort as you'd want for the Bruins — and a refreshing change of pace from what has been a disappointing skid.

B's tempt fate with injuries

The Bruins were lucky to leave the Garden ice with just some bumps and bruises, as Craig Smith, Jakub Zboril, Nick Ritchie and Marchand all exited the contest at various points due to injury. While it was unclear what Zboril tweaked, he missed most of the second period before eventually making his way back out on the bench near the end of the frame. The optics of Smith's apparent injury were much more concerning, as the veteran winger appeared to severely injure his arm/wrist shortly after a face-off.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370182163790958598

Smith immediately went down the tunnel, only to return to the ice just a few minutes later — finishing the game with 11:28 of ice time logged and a shot on goal.

Ritchie was also banged up, as the power forward was clearly in some major discomfort after colliding with Jacob Trouba in the Rangers' zone. Ritchie briefly went to the room, but returned to the bench shortly thereafter. Marchand rounded out the list of B's skaters that are likely to be icing up postgame, as he got tangled up in the third period and briefly exited the game, only to return just a few minutes later.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370187241167974407

Crisis avoided for an already shorthanded B's roster — but methinks quite a few guys aren't going to be too spry getting out of bed Friday morning.

FIVE UP

Brad Marchand: Zero shots on goal and three points — talk about economical for the B's top left wing, who passed Ken Hodge for ninth on the Bruins' all-time scoring list with his three-assist night. Marchand delivered an early haymaker in this one, generating somethin' out of nothin' with that tremendous shorthanded set-up on Bergeron's shorthanded tally, giving Boston some breathing room going into the first intermission. As @bruins_stats notes below, there may not be a better PK duo in the entire league than Marchand and Bergeron.

https://twitter.com/bruins_stats/status/1370175699068260356

Jake DeBrusk: Whether it be the healthy scratch, new stick or fresh haircut, DeBrusk looked like a completely different player out there on Thursday. His second goal of the season will obviously headline his performance against New York, but DeBrusk was much more engaged and active whenever he hopped over the boards, nearly setting up a tally for Jack Studnicka with a hard-working shift while also planting Brendan Smith with a heavy check behind the Rangers' net. This is the DeBrusk that the Bruins have sorely missed this season.

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1370204597432815619

David Krejci: Thursday was also a return to form for Krejci, who not only finally snapped his extended goal-scoring slump, but was especially engaged during even-strength action, with his primary helper on DeBrusk's tally coming off of a strong forechecking shift in which he recovered a puck behind New York's net and hit his linemate with a crisp feed.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370179947348779008

Zach Senyshyn: Early returns, of course, but Senyshyn certainly looked like an NHLer in his season debut on Thursday. Slotted in on a revamped fourth line next to Jack Studnicka and Sean Kuraly, Senyshyn's straight-line, north-south speed helped give that checking line some added pop on the forecheck, while the 23-year-old winger also generated a pair of Grade-A chances off of odd-man rushes with Kuraly. He deserves a pretty extended look up in the NHL ranks.

Jaroslav Halak: Halak was money in net,  stopping all 28 shots that came his way. With the victory, Halak secured his 52nd career shutout, moving into sole possession of fifth place among European-trained goaltenders.

ONE DOWN

Coyle Line: A pretty quiet showing from the B's third line, with Coyle failing to land a shot on net and Boston out-attempted, 8-5, in his line's 9:04 of 5v5 ice time together.

PLAY OF THE GAME

What else was it going to be?

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370172935491715074

PARTING THOUGHTS

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370181438621028360

QUOTE OF THE DAY

https://twitter.com/_TyAnderson/status/1370206135928512512

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will close out their brief, two-game homestand with a rematch against the Rangers on Saturday afternoon. Puck drop is set for 1 p.m.