Final, Bruins 6-3: That’s it, and that’s all. The Bruins pulled away late, and they’re back on the winning track with an impressive 6-3 win.
Third period, 18:24, Bruins 6-3: Good things happen when you put pucks on net and get traffic in front. The Bruins just did both, and the B’s are leading by three goals again.
Matt Bartkowski threw the puck at the net, which is where Milan Lucic deflected it by Hernik Lundqvist for the Bruins’ sixth goal of the game.
Third period, 15:18, Bruins 5-3: It’s not over just yet.
Ryan McDonagh just scored a power-play goal, and the Rangers are back within two. McDonagh got the puck in front of the Bruins’ net where his initial shot hit Zdeno Chara up high. Chara was momentarily dazed and lost track of the puck. That allowed McDonagh to put him the second-chance opportunity for the power-play tally.
Third period, 15:06, Bruins 5-2: The Boston penalty kill is going back to work.
Kevan Miller was the guilty party as he was sent off for holding.
Third period, 13:34, Bruins 5-2: The Bruins have just about put this one away.
The Boston fourth line created a turnover, and then it was Gregory Campbell who cashed in. He redirected a shot (with his skate) by Henrik Lundqvist, and the B’s now have a three-goal lead.
That goal was reviewed, but it stands.
Third period, 9:04, Bruins 4-2: That’s a big one.
Gregory Campbell just scored a pretty shorthanded goal that not only takes the wind out of the Rangers’ sails, but it gives the Bruins a two-goal lead.
Third period, 8:02, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are going to have to kill off yet another penalty.
Dougie Hamilton just deflected a puck over the glass, and he’s going to the penalty box for delay of game.
Third period, 4:00, Bruins 3-2: The third has been pretty tight-checking so far, but the Rangers have gotten some chances.
Ryan Callahan deflected a shot in front of Tuukka Rask, and the deflection from about shoulder-high on Rask to the goalie’s pads. He was able to squeeze his legs and keep the puck there before freezing it.
Benoit Pouliot had a semi-breakaway as well, but the Rangers forward shot wide of the net.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-2: The third period is underway. There will be 4-on-4 play for about a minute and a half.
End second period, Bruins 3-2: The second period is over, and the Bruins will take the one-goal lead to the second intermission.
Second period, 19:31, Bruins 3-2: We’ll have 4-on-4 play to end the period and into the third.
Ryan McDonagh and Brad Marchand were just each given high sticking penalties for some stick work before and after the most recent whistle.
Second period, 16:53, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins were starting to get sloppy, and the Rangers just made them pay.
The B’s turned the puck over at the Rangers’ blue line, and that started the puck back the other way. Brad Richards was able to get open as he carried the puck down the right wing where he ripped a wrist shot up over the right shoulder of Tuukka Rask to pull New York within one.
Second period, 14:34, Bruins 3-1: The Rangers just had a chance to cut into the Bruins’ lead with a furious scramble in front of the Boston net.
Somehow, Tuukka Rask and the Bruins were able to keep the puck out of the net. After a few anxious seconds, the puck was pulled out of the crease and shoveled to the safety of behind the net as the B’s avoided any sorts of danger.
Second period, 12:00, Bruins 3-1: Rick Nash just made an incredible play to carry the puck into the Boston zone and get around the defense. He then fed the puck across the slot to Chris Kreider who quickly put the puck on net. Tuukka Rask went from his left to right to make the glove save, though, to keep the two-goal lead intact.
Second period, 9:34, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins now have a two-goal lead.
Carl Soderberg made an incredible play to roof a second-chance shot in front of the New York net. Soderberg gathered the puck on the doorstep after Henrik Lundqvist made a save on a Loui Eriksson shot.
Second period, 8:00, Bruins 2-1: The Rangers are now 0-for-2 on the power play after the Bruins just killed off New York’s second power play of the game.
Tuukka Rask made a couple of nice pad saves during that man-advantage. Rask is certainly locked in tonight.
Second period, 5:44, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins are going to have to kill another power play here in the second period.
Chris Kelly just pushed J.T. Miller into Tuukka Rask, and that will get Kelly an interference penalty. The Rangers weren’t able to convert on their first power play.
Second period, 4:10, Bruins 2-1: This has actually been a really nice game for the Bruins’ first line so far, and they’re one of the big reasons the Bruins now have the lead.
The first line carried the puck into the zone where Jarome Iginla made a play in the right faceoff circle to move the puck to Milan Lucic. He saw the puck tipped away, but Dougie Hamilton jumped into the play and quickly put a shot on goal that beat Henrik Lundqvist.
Second period, 3:53, 1-1: The Rangers are giving the Rangers some issues in the neutral zone, and Brad Richards almost scored because of it.
Richards got free through the neutral zone and burst into the Boston zone behind the Bruins defense, but Tuukka Rask made the save.
Second period, 2:50, 1-1: It looked for a second as if Daniel Paille was going to have a great scoring chance for the Bruins if the speedy forward could get to the puck before Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist.
Paille couldn’t win the race as Lundqvist came out of his net and dove at the puck and took out Paille in the process.
Second period, 0:01, 1-1: The second period is underway with the game tied at a goal apiece.
End first period, 1-1: The first period is over in New York, and it was actually a pretty good final few minutes from the B’s. They’re starting to engage physically a little bit more, and that’s paying off.
Tuukka Rask was certainly the story in the first period as he made 19 saves on 20 Rangers shot to just keep the B’s in the game.
First period, 18:07, 1-1: The Bruins have somehow tied the game.
The B’s first line just woke up, and they get the B’s on the board. They dumped the puck in, which is where Milan Lucic beat two Rangers to the puck in the corner. He got it back to David Krejci, and Krejci put it on Iginla’s tape in front where he redirected it by Henrik Lundqvist.
First period, 15:00, Rangers 1-0: The Bruins seem to really be struggling with the speed of the Rangers’ forwards, and New York is doing all it can to make that stand up.
The fact that the B’s have been careless with the puck so far, well that’s not helping much, either. Zdeno Chara just turned the puck over at the New York blue line, and that turned into an odd-man break for the Rangers. Luckily for the Bruins, Tuukka Rask made the save.
Rask now has 16 saves.
First period, 12:00, Rangers 1-0: The Bruins just generated something at least resembling a scoring chance. Jarome Iginla was able to wheel and put a shot on goal from the slot — just Boston’s third of the game so far — but it made for an easy stop for Henrik Lundqvist.
Just seconds later, though, Carl Hagelin took off down the ice and beat the Boston defense back where he was able to put a shot on net that Tuukka Rask stopped.
First period, 10:39, Rangers 1-0: Tuukka Rask is keeping the Bruins in this game.
He just made a big save on Derek Stepan, which came shortly after a save on Rick Nash. The Rangers are outshooting the Bruins 11-1 so far.
First period, 7:00, Rangers 1-0: The Bruins killed off the penalty, thanks in large part to Tuukka Rask.
The Bruins goalie made a nice pad save on Ryan Callahan who walked in on Rask and tried to jam the puck in with the forehand, but Rask’s outstretched left leg kept it a one-goal game.
First period, 4:54, Rangers 1-0: Things aren’t looking much brighter for the Bruins who are going to have to kill off a power play for the first time tonight.
Johnny Boychuk was just called for interference, and he’ll sit down for two minutes.
First period, 3:20, Rangers 1-0: This is not the way the Bruins wanted this game to start.
The Rangers just got on the board first after New York was able to force a David Krejci turnover at the New York blue line. The puck bounced into the neutral zone where J.T. Miller was able to retrieve it and was all by himself.
Miller sped into the Boston zone all alone and put a fantastic move on Tuukka Rask and easily beat the Boston goalie to give New York the 1-0 lead.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway at Madison Square Garden.
6:30 p.m.: Warmups are underway at Madison Square Garden where Tuukka Rask led the Bruins out, and Henrik Lundqvist was the first Ranger onto the ice. That means they’ll be the starting goaltenders, despite the fact that both played yesterday.
4:30 p.m.: Before the two-week break for the Winter Olympics, the Boston Bruins were one of the NHL’s hottest teams. In the two games since coming back from the break, however, they’ve been “meh” at best.
The B’s will look for their first post-win break on Sunday night when they travel to New York to take on the Rangers. The Bruins have already dropped their first two games since returning to play with an overtime loss Wednesday in Buffalo and a loss to the Washington Capitals at TD Garden on Saturday afternoon.
Now they’ll have to face a Rangers team that was one six of its last 10 games and is fighting for a playoff spot. New York dropped a decision to the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday, though, so they’ll also be looking to rebound on Sunday night.
If Boston is going to get things together, it will need to start in the defensive end. The B’s have allowed nine total goals in their two games since the break. That included allowing four goals against the Capitals on Saturday afternoon with Tukkka Rask in net for the first time since he returned from Sochi.
“I don’t know if ‘troubling’ is the word,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said after his team’s loss on Saturday. “It’s something that you can correct but obviously that’s what’s happening right now. I think we’re getting caught cheating on the offensive side too much, and it’s ending up in the back of our net, so probably need to fix that if we expect to win because at this rate here, we’re giving up too many goals.”
The fact that the Bruins are on the second half of a back-to-back with travel may make righting the ship a little more difficult. They’ve had relative success in that situation this year, though. Boston is 7-2-0 on the back half of the back-t0-backs. The B’s game Tuesday also means this is the middle game of a stretch with three games in four days. The Bruins are actually 8-0-0 in the middle games of such situations this season.
The Bruins didn’t hold a morning skate on Sunday morning, so there’s no news as of now about the lineup including the starting goaltender. Henrik Lundqvist, who is celebrating his 32nd birthday today, is expected to make the start for the Rangers.
Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is set for 7 p.m.
