It all amounted to a frustrating evening where the Bruins couldn’t pull out two points in a situation where they have been able to lock it in for most of the season.
The fact it happened against a hapless New York Rangers team that’s already pulled the plug on this season made it even more of a lost opportunity for a Black and Gold group with much higher ambitions.
But the Bruins were able to salvage a point in Monday night’s 4-3 overtime loss to the Blueshirts at Madison Square Garden, and that is a little something as they continue to power forward in a playoff spot in the East. The final point wasn’t lost on the B’s even as they fumbled away the second point on a night when Boston’s best players had their vintage games, but a lot of complementary Bruins simply didn’t have enough in the gas tank.
“We played our game more in the second period than we did in the other periods,” said Marco Sturm. “For some reason, we just didn’t have our legs today. But we were going into the third period with a one goal lead and we wanted to finish it, and, unfortunately, we didn’t. Going to overtime is always a 50/50 chance, so we’ll take that point. But I thought we left a point behind, that is for sure.”
The good news is that Morgan Geekie, Elias Lindholm and David Pastrnak (22 shot attempts combined in the game) brought the good stuff against the Rangers. Pastrnak collected three assists and his 900th NHL point in the loss while making some brilliant passes all over the ice, but couldn’t really fully enjoy the achievement afterward as it was in a disappointing defeat.
Encore Morgan Geekie! pic.twitter.com/fQAg5W9ghv
— TVA Sports (@TVASports) January 27, 2026
“It’s bittersweet,” admitted Pastrnak, who was Geekie immediately go and get the puck out of the net after he scored the goal, knowing that it was a meaningful moment for his teammate. “It’s always tough to enjoy this kind of milestone when you don’t get the win. But it’s special.
“From the first period I knew I would be a disher today. I saw the ice well today, but, unfortunately, we didn’t get the ‘W.’
“I was seeing the ice well and the playmaking was there today. I made some nice plays and seeing the guys in better positions. Got a couple of lucky bounces.”
Lindholm tallied a pair of goals cleaning up loose pucks around the net and is now up to 11 goals and 37 points in 43 games on the season as his second year in Boston is getting close to surpassing his first at this point, and Geekie now has four goals in four games as he is heating up as well.
“[Pastrnak is feeling it right now and you can see it,” said Sturm. “He has another three assists tonight. He’s a special player, you always have to be aware [if you are one of your teammates] and he’s fun to watch. Sometimes he forgets about shooting, but as long as the puck goes in the net I don’t really care [how it goes in].”
And the other positive development is that the Bruins continue to build on a Stanley Cup playoff level of play that has them firmly entrenched in the wild card spot. They are on pace for 97 points at this point, and that should be enough to get them into the postseason dance when the regular season music stops.
But the rest of the forward group didn’t bring much to the table as the B’s loaded up on their top line in New York.
Pavel Zacha finished a minus-3 and lost a 1-on-1 battle with Matthew Robertson for the overtime game-winner as he allowed the Rangers rusher a bit of middle ice and couldn’t keep him from getting off a good shot. Seven B’s forwards not named had one shot on net or less and just didn’t have enough offensive push against a Rangers team that hasn’t exactly been shutting opponents down this season.
There may have been a bit of the Bruins overlooking the Rangers after they dropped 10 goals on them the last time they met in Boston a few weeks ago, and that’s unfortunate given how important every last point is for Boston headed into the looming Olympic break.
“We’ve got to be happy we took one point out of it, but I think we just had some lapses throughout the game,” said Morgan Geekie. “They took advantage of it and we were unable to get two points out of it.
“We’ve been trending in the right direction. Obviously, there are going to be nights like we had tonight, and now it’s up to us to how we respond. We just need to be ready and come to play against a good team [in the Nashville Predators].”
The game-deciding sequence in OT was unfortunate for Joonas Korpisalo as well. The B’s backup netminder had been excellent during regulation and was Boston’s best penalty killer as they took a number of infractions during the game, but he was slightly off his angle in allowing the Robertson winner that ultimately ended the game and wasn’t exactly what anybody would call a sniped score.
THE RANGERS WIN 🗣️
— NHL (@NHL) January 27, 2026
Matthew Robertson makes a beautiful move to the net for the first @Energizer overtime winner of his career! pic.twitter.com/y1wq7ih3s1
The bottom line is that many, many members of the Bruins weren’t at their best at MSG, and it is going to happen from time to time. And it’s something of a positive when a team can salvage a point when those things plague the majority of the team.
But many of Boston’s best players were also brandishing their “A” game even as the supporting players were struggling, and it’s ultimately a wasted evening when you can’t get two points while your roster’s best are bringing it.