BSJ Game Report: Rangers 4, Bruins 0 - B's lifeless as Rangers punch back

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

Box Score

HEADLINES

B's sleepwalk on Garden ice: The Bruins' inability to string together consecutive points is becoming an awfully concerning trend at this point. Despite posting a complete victory against the Rangers on Thursday, Boston dozed off throughout their matinee rematch against the Blueshirts on Saturday, with New York coming away with a 4-0 victory that was even more lopsided than the final score indicated.

New York goalie Keith Kinkaid didn't have to do very much to keep the B's off the board, as Boston went 0-for-5 on the power play and generated zero high-danger scoring chances all afternoon. Boston has not won consecutive games since securing four points against the Rangers on Feb. 10 and Feb. 12.

The Bruins might have been sipping on decaf ahead of puck drop, as they were largely listless in the opening frame — with K'Andre Miller opening the scoring for the visitors with a bomb from the blue line just 3:06 into regulation. Boston only trailed by one entering the first intermission, but things could have been much, much worse had it not been for some clutch saves from Jaroslav Halak.

Remarkably, the Bruins managed to be even worse in the middle frame, with Chris Kreider adding to the Blueshirts' lead off of a dreadful defensive breakdown in front of the B's net. Down the other end of the ice, Kinkaid might have been counting sheep, as Boston did not land a single shot on goal in the final 11:21 of the second.

The horror show wrapped up in the third, with Boston only landing another seven shots on net against New York — while both Ryan Strome and Pavel Buchnevich lighting the lamp to close out the win for the visitors. Just a brutal afternoon at the Garden.

Jake DeBrusk added to COVID Protocol list: For the second time in less than two weeks, the Bruins lost a key forward just ahead of puck drop due to COVID-19 Protocols, as DeBrusk was placed on the NHL's protocol list Saturday morning.

It is important to note that a player placed on the NHL’s COVID Protocols list doesn’t signal that said individual HAS tested positive for COVID-19. Other reasons can include possible symptoms, a false positive test, quarantine due to contact tracing, inconclusive results and more. DeBrusk skated with his teammates on Friday at Warrior Ice Arena.

Back on March 3, the Bruins lost Charlie Coyle just ahead of their matchup against the Capitals due to COVID Protocols. Ultimately, Coyle only missed one game, as his absence was due to a false positive test. Boston is hoping for a similar result with DeBrusk, to say the least.

"That's a tough break for him," Cassidy said. "He'll have to go through the protocol now and hopefully pop some negative tests or realize, like Coyle, that it was a false positive but we don't know that and we'll see how it goes. Hopefully that's the case for him so he can get right back in there. I'm sure he's feeling good about his game after the other night. A little bit of adversity this year for Jake, but like I said, hopefully it's one that he can get back in there and not have to do the full two weeks and any other symptoms that may go with it."

Reinforcements making strides: Despite losing DeBrusk for Saturday's matchup, it does seem as though the Bruins have some reinforcements on the way, as Cassidy noted that a couple of skaters on the B's large list of injured bodies could make the trek over to Pittsburgh and Buffalo next week.

Kevan Miller, who has not played since Feb. 18 due to a setback with his surgically-repaired knee, will travel with the club. Brandon Carlo still has a ways to go, but the defenseman is coming around.

"Kevan Miller I believe is traveling with us because he has been skating a little bit more," Cassidy said, adding: "Saw Brandon yesterday, he’s coming around. Until he’s on the ice more frequently and with the group we’ll continue to just tell you, obviously, he’s unavailable.”

As for Zach Senyshyn, who is going to miss some time with an upper-body injury after just one game played with the big club, Cassidy noted that the B's don't expect the 23-year-old winger to need surgery or be out for multiple weeks. Still, given both his strong debut on Thursday and his value on a slumping fourth line, this latest setback stands as a brutal break for a guy that has yet to carve out a role on an NHL roster.

"It sucks for the player. He's put his time in," Cassidy said of Senyshyn. "Last year was a little different. ... He comes up, I thought played a really solid game, added some offense. So that line had some good looks, was fine away from the puck. So you want to start establishing yourself and digging in a little bit where you're in the lineup a little more consistently and gaining the trust of your teammates and the coaching staff, so I feel bad for him. I really do."

TWO UP

Penalty kill: Boston's power play didn't give them anything on Saturday, but its PK, much like Halak, prevented things from getting REALLY ugly out there — negating all five Rangers power plays on the afternoon.

Jaroslav Halak: Even with four goals relinquished, I shudder to think of what the final score could have been if Halak didn't turn aside numerous Grade-A looks.

THREE DOWN

... Everyone? I mean, sure, we'll knock the top line for putting together arguably the worst game we've seen from that trio in quite some time (Boston had just one shot attempt in their 6:28 of 5v5 ice time), but good grief — just about everyone didn't have it in this one. Just a dreadful showing in the offensive zone, be it even-strength or on the man advantage.

Power play: Whether it was a lack of movement up on the blue line, late retrievals down low or just plain ol' missed passes and shoddy execution, the Bruins' power play is in rough shape these days. Even with David Krejci burying one on the man advantage on Thursday, Boston has still only cashed in four times on its last 35 power-play bids — a stretch that has lingered for 14 games now.

Jarred Tinordi: Boston's shorthanded defense has generally held its own during this extended stretch of hot-and-cold play, but this defensive lapse from Tinordi and Krejci was a tough look.

https://twitter.com/RangersMSGN/status/1370815027796660229

PLAY OF THE GAME: 

uhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

PARTING THOUGHTS

Bruce Cassidy might have summed this game up best here in the second period.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370818595211636737

QUOTE OF THE DAY

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1370840054474620929

LOOKING AHEAD

The Bruins will now head out on the road for four games, starting with a back-to-back slate with the Penguins on Monday and Tuesday. If Tuukka Rask is not cleared to return by then, expect one of Dan Vladar or Jeremy Swayman to start one of those matchups against Pittsburgh.