New York forward Brad Richards will not play, as John Tortorella is making him a healthy scratch for a do-or-die Game 4.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins will be in a familiar position when the puck drops for Game 4 at Madison Square Garden, and they can call on examples of both the right way and the wrong way to handle the situation.

The B’s will take on the Rangers on Thursday night, and they’ll have a chance to end the Rangers’ season. Boston enters Game 4 holding the 3-0 series lead after the 2-1 win over the Blueshirts on Tuesday night. Only a few teams have blown a 3-0 series lead, including this Bruins team, under Claude Julien, just three years ago against the Flyers. Of course, the Bruins bounced back a year later to win the Stanley Cup, and sweeping the Flyers in the process.

Boston got another reminder of how important it is to close a series in the first round of this year’s playoffs, too. Toronto pushed the B’s to the brink after the Bruins had a 3-1 series lead before hanging on to win the series with a Game 7 overtime win.

So if anyone knows the importance of closing things out with a big series lead, it should be the Bruins. The Rangers aren’t necessarily inspiring any confidence right now, either. New York has been outplayed in all three games of the series, and even with Henrik Lundqvist standing on his head in Game 3, it just wasn’t quite enough. Making matters worse for John Tortorella’s bunch is that they’re a little banged up following a physical, bloody Game 3. Both defenseman Anton Stralman and forward Chris Kreider both left games with injuries Tuesday night that will bear keeping an eye on in Game 4.

Other than that, Game 4 will be all about which team is the more desperate team. The Rangers’ desperation is obvious. The Bruins, meanwhile, would probably love nothing more than to end the series now and get some rest in advance of the Eastern Conference finals.

Puck drop for Game 4 is set for just after 7 p.m. in New York.

TVA Sports’ Louis Jean reports via Twitter that the Canucks have fired Vigneault after seven seasons as the club’s head coach. Additionally, assistant coaches Rick Bowness and Newell Browne have been dismissed, according to Jean.

Vigneault, who won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL’s best coach in 2006-07, won at least 45 games five times in his seven seasons. Vancouver also won the Presidents’ Trophy twice under Vigneault. However, aside from the Cup Final appearance in 2011, the Canucks never made it out of the second round, including first-round exits in the last two seasons.

Surely Lundqvist would bounce back in Game 3 with a much better effort, perhaps a sterling showing that would steal New York a win and get them right back in the series. But Lundqvist was damn good Tuesday night in Game 3, and even that wasn’t enough. The Bruins, despite being frustrated by big save after big save, eventually did just enough and got enough good fortune to beat Lundqvist and the Rangers.

Boston took Lundqvist’s best shot, and they were even a little bit better. And now, the series is over.

The Rangers’ best chance to win this series was for Lundqvist to play like the best goalie in the world. For two games, he was far from that, but on Tuesday, he started to resemble a Vezina finalist again. He was there to turn away both Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin on breakaways in the first period. He stopped Jaromir Jagr point-blank. Twice. There was a stunning glove save on Gregory Campbell in the second, perhaps only bested by another glove save on Seguin in the third.

There were only two ways that the Rangers were going to win this series. The New York power play is a train wreck right now, the Rangers have a dearth in depth compared to the ultra-deep Bruins, and, quite frankly, Claude Julien is outcoaching John Tortorella right now. One of the only ways for New York to win was to have the Bruins fall back into that whole Jekyll and Hyde thing and cough up a game or four. The second, of course, would have been to have Lundqvist steal a game or two or the entire series.

He tried — boy, did he try — to steal Game 3. For much of the game, it looked like he was going to do it. The Rangers got the game’s first goal in the second period, and it looked like one was going to be good enough. But one of the differences in the series through games has been the Bruins’ ability to do more of the little things than the Rangers. The B’s, especially the fourth line, started to get to the net. They started to get traffic in front of Lundqvist. As we saw in Game 2, sometimes beating a world-class goalie is as simple as getting in front of him.

They tied it up with tremendous net-front traffic, and Boston won it with more traffic and a lucky bounce.

“It hasn’t been our game so far,” Lundqvist said after the game. “We have to work a little harder to get the bounces. We got closer, but again I’ve got to give them some credit, too, the way they play and the way they show up in front of the net and make it pretty tough.”

Arguably the best chance for the Rangers to win the series was to have Lundqvist stand on his head night after night. While he didn’t do that in Games 1 or 2, he brought his best when his team needed it most in Game 3. He was good — he was really good — and it wasn’t enough. They needed his best, they got his best, and they still lost the game. That, along with a 3-0 series deficit, is just something you just don’t come back from.

While the contributions of Daniel Paille, Gregory Campbell and Shawn Thornton don’t always stand out on the stat sheet at the end of games, their efforts certainly don’t go unappreciated. Every now and then, though, their contributions extend beyond the little things and the intangibles.

That was the case Tuesday night in New York, as the Bruins beat the Rangers 2-1 in Game 3 to take a 3-0 series lead in their second-round series. The fourth line was on the ice for both Bruins goals, including Paille’s game-winner with 3:31 to play in the third period.

The fourth line in Boston is one of the best in the league, even if they don’t always get rewarded with goals, points or even a ton of ice time. But you saw how important they can be in Game 3, and that was even before they helped the club to two third-period goals.

“They were working hard,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “They’ve scored some big goals for us in the playoffs. I have confidence in that line, I’ve said it a million times. [Tuesday night] was no exception; they were on for both goals.”

The Merlot Line, as they’re affectionately known because of their wine-colored practice jerseys, was arguably the Bruins’ best line all night. With Henrik Lundqvist standing on his head for the first two periods, the fourth line was going to the net and creating traffic in front better than any of the other Boston lines.

That finally paid off in the biggest way early in the third period. With Thornton standing in the right side of the slot and Campbell parked in front of the net, Johnny Boychuk somehow finagled a wrist shot through the maze of white and blue sweaters. On a night where it looked like Lundqvist might pitch a shutout after allowing five goals in Game 2, the goal obviously gave the B’s a shot of momentum.

That goal sparked the Bruins in the midst of a siege on the New York end that hadn’t quite put the puck in the net. From there, the momentum was sustained until Paille’s goal later in the period that proved to be the game-winner.  It’s not the first time the fourth line has jump-started the Bruins in this postseason, either. At least one shift from Game 4 of the Toronto series stands out as a time when the trio gave the Bruins energy leading up to overtime, where the B’s eventually won.

The end result Tuesday was five combined points for the fourth line in the club’s biggest win of the year. Of course, with the fourth line, it’s not just the scoring. Paille and Campbell both saw a good amount of time on the penalty kill that kept the Rangers from converting on either of their power plays. Thornton, as he’s been known to do, was there to defend his teammate when Brad Marchand got into it with Derek Dorsett in the second period. Thornton had a word with Dorsett, and that was about the last anyone heard from him.

Julien’s insistence to “roll four lines” has been maligned at times over his tenure in Boston, but it’s tough to argue with the results at this point. The fourth line’s impact was immeasurable in the Stanley Cup Final two springs ago, and they continue to do everything that’s asked of them here in this postseason.

“They’re very capable,” Julien understated after the game.  ”You look at Paille’s speed; he puts D’s on their heels. Soupy keeps working hard and Thorty’s a smart player. … That’s been a good line for us. You utilize them because they’re good, not because you have to. “

In Game 3, where it looked like the Bruins might end up on the short side against a dominant goalie and a desperate hockey club, the Bruins’ fourth line was their best line.

The Bruins hang on for a 2-1 victory, stealing the game after it looked like Henrik Lundqvist would be the one doing the stealing through the first 40 minutes. A strong third period led by the B’s fourth line was enough to lift Boston to a 3-0 series lead, and they’ll go for the sweep against the Blueshirts on Thursday night.

Third period, 18:24, Bruins 2-1: The Rangers have taken their timeout.

Third period, 16:29, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins’ fourth line is something else.

The B’s just took the 2-1 lead thanks to a relentless effort from the fourth line, and with a little luck, they were able to jam home the go-ahead goal. Daniel Paille eventually put it in, thanks to a deflection in front, and the Bruins have the lead.

Third period, 14:22, 1-1: Tyler Seguin just can’t buy one right now. The Bruins forward was just robbed again, this time on a wrist shot from the right wing that looked like it might have been destined for the corner of the net right inside the crossbar and the post.

The Rangers are without Chris Kreider at the moment after taking a stick to the face, while Carl Hagelin just returned to the New York bench, perhaps missing a tooth or two after getting a puck in the kisser.

Thrird period, 10:23, 1-1: The Bruins are only outshooting the Rangers 4-3 here in the third period, but the siege is certainly on. The Patrice Bergeron line (with Bergeron sporting a wicked cut above his right eye) just had the Rangers on their heels to the point that there were three or four Rangers in the crease, not counting the goalie.

The Rangers did respond with a good shift moments later that actually had a handful of Bruins in the net as the puck bounced around, eventually squirting out to the left of Tuukka Rask before the B’s could control the puck.

Third period, 6:04, 1-1: The Bruins continue to surge, and they’re coming close to taking the lead.

Johnny Boychuk came within inches of scoring his second goal of the game, but he hit the post with a shot from the right point. Boychuk already has three goals in the playoffs, but he could have a few more had it not been for a handful of posts hit in both series.

Third period, 3:10, 1-1: Net-front traffic, that’s what it’s all about, kids.

Once again, it’s the Bruins’ fourth line that gets to the net and gets in front, and the game is now tied.

Johnny Boychuk somehow got the puck through a maze of guys in front, and it beats Henrik Lundqvist.

Third period, 0:01, Rangers 1-0: The third period is underway with the Bruins looking to come back.

Second period reaction: It was kind of an odd first period for the Bruins who find themselves trailing. That’s thanks in large part to Henrik Lundqvist who has been very, very good through 40 minutes.

He’s stopped everything he’s seen so far, and he’s been much better than earlier in the series. However, his performance in Game 3 has been helped along by the Bruins’ inability to get to the net and create screens in front. However, they were much better at that later in the period, as they controlled the puck in the New York end for much of the second half of the second period.

They could take a page out of the Rangers’ playbook who lead thanks in large part to net-front traffic. The game’s lone goal was originally given to Ryan McDonagh, but that was changed to be Taylor Pyatt’s goal a little later. The puck must have grazed Pyatt on the way into the net, which just tells you how important it is to get in front.

End second period, Rangers 1-0: The second period comes to an end with the Rangers leading 1-0.

Second period, 18:00, Rangers 1-0: We just had a few minutes of action without a whistle, so there’s a lot to get caught up on.

The Bruins are certainly starting to bring it. The had their best chance of the night when Nathan Horton tried to put home a rebound, but the forward hit the post from just to Henrik Lundqvist’s right.

Torey Krug continues to impress as well, and he’s been a huge key to this recent surge here in the end of the period.

 Second period, 9:53, Rangers 1-0: Right on cue, the Bruins start to get toward the New York net, a movement started by the club’s fourth line.

From there, the first line turned in a solid shift as well, with help at the point from Torey Krug, who continues to look fearless with the puck on his stick.

The B’s aren’t getting any bounces right now, though, and Henrik Lundqvist continues to see the puck well and make saves.

Second period, 7:09, Rangers 1-0: Tyler Seguin is showing signs of coming to life, but he’s still not able to get it by Henrik Lundqvist.

The Rangers goalie just stopped a second-chance shot from Seguin, who did a nice job of getting near the net for a rebound chance.

New York is doing a better job of blocking shots and clogging up the middle of the ice in their own zone, and now it’s on the Bruins to make the adjustments to be able to get pucks through and get traffic in front of Lundqvist.

Second period, 3:53, Rangers 1-0: The Rangers are on the board first, thanks to some good net-front traffic.

Ryan McDonagh just wristed a shot at the net from the point, and it got through a sea of sweaters before it beat Tuukka Rask.

Second period, 3:45, 0-0: The Rangers’ power play is awful, so they didn’t score on that power play.

Second period, 1:31, 0-0: The Rangers are about to go on the power play again.

Nathan Horton hooked Rick Nash, and the Bruins are back to trying to kill off another penalty.

Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period is underway.

First period reaction: The Bruins certainly got their chances in the first period, but they weren’t able to put any of those chances in the net. That’s a problem when the point of the game is to score goals.

You have to give Henrik Lundqvist a bunch of credit for that, though. He’s been much better here in Game 3 than he was in Games 1 and 2, especially the second game. Lundqvist had a couple of big saves on breakaways from Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin. The Rangers made some sloppy plays in front of him, and he was there to bail them out.

The Seguin save was especially noteworthy, not only because Lundqvist made the big save, but also because Seguin usually buries those chances, no matter who’s in net. I think that goes a long way in describing the issues he’s having right now.

On the defensive end, the Bruins have been fine in my opinion. Tuukka Rask has looked a little shaky in giving up some rebounds, but the Bruins have done a good job of clearing those out. Furthermore, the Rangers have yet to take advantage of the Bruins’ rookie defensemen, all three of whom are in the lineup again. Is it the fact that the Boston D-men are playing well? To an extent, yes. But the Rangers just aren’t doing enough to generate chances, and in a period in which their goalie stood on their head, that’s the type of thing that could come back to bite you.

End first period, 0-0: The first period comes to an end, and we’re without a goal.

First period, 14:41, 0-0: This has not been Jaromir Jagr’s finest game as a Bruin, not by a long shot.

The forward already took the holding penalty early in the period, then he missed a golden chance to score and finally, he was easily muscled off a puck in the offensive zone.

It’s going to be awfully difficult to win if the Bruins aren’t getting much of anything out of him or Tyler Seguin, two big offensive threats who are looking a little snakebit right now.

First period, 12:00, 0-0: Henrik Lundqvist already looks much better in Game 3 than he did in Games 1 or 2.

The Rangers goalie just made a couple of big saves on breakaways, first robbing Chris Kelly and then stoning Tyler Seguin to keep the game scoreless.

Jaromir Jagr then had a chance, and he couldn’t jam home a rebound chance right in front.

First period, 6:15, 0-0: For the Bruins, that was very, very easy.

The B’s had no issues killing off the New York power play, which is something that should surprise no one given the way the Rangers’ power play has looked in this series. They can’t get out of their own way, and in a way, they’re probably giving the Boston penalty kill some momentum and confidence.

First period, 4:08, 0-0: The Rangers are getting the game’s first power play.

Jaromir Jagr was just called for holding, and the B’s will have to kill it off here early in the first.

First period, 0:30, 0-0: The game is underway with a great shift from the Bruins.

7:35 p.m.: We’re probably five minutes from actually getting underway.

The Bruins will start with the Patrice Bergeron line and they’ll have Johnny Boychuk and Zdeno Chara on the blue line.

7:15 p.m.: The Bruins are going with the same lineup in Game 3 apparently.

For those who haven’t been paying close enough attention, here are the lines that the Bruins have used in the series.

Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Jaromir Jagr
Rich Peverley — Chris Kelly — Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Johnny Boychuk — Matt Bartkowski
Adam McQuaid — Torey Krug

7:05 p.m.:  The Bruins and Rangers are on the ice for pregame warmups in New York, and it looks like the Bruins will go with the same lineup as they did in Game 2.

Neither Dennis Seidenberg nor Wade Redden are on the ice for the pregame skate, meaning they’ll be out again for Game 3.

6:30 p.m.: We’re an hour away from puck drop, which means we’re still 30 minutes away from pregame skate, which is when we should get a better idea of what the Bruins will do lineup-wise, particularly on the back end.

What we do know is that there is no reason for the Bruins to not expect some push back from the Rangers in Game 3. The Bruins, who have historically not made it easy on themselves with series leads under Claude Julien, should know that better than anyone else. All they have to do is go back to the first round where they took their foot off the gas and saw a 3-1 series lead evaporate before eking out the Game 7 win against Toronto. The Rangers, for all their faults in this series, also know that a two-game deficit doesn’t necessarily spell defeat. The Rangers were down 0-2 to the Capitals in the first round before they came back to eventually win the series in seven with wins in Games 6 and 7.

The easiest way to avoid those trends? Have a quick start here in Game 3. If the Bruins can out firing on all cylinders early with that “killer instinct” early on, they can go a long way in taking the crowd out of it. Perhaps more importantly, they might be able to take the Rangers out of it. Some feel that this is a team teetering right now, and they might be one big punch away from hitting the canvas. If the Bruins can deliver that in the early going, we could be looking at a very short series.

If not, the Bruins have no one to blame but themselves.

3:30 p.m.: The Rangers are dealing with some injury issues of their own, and like the Bruins, they may be getting healthier, just not healthy enough to play.

Marc Staal (eye injury) and Darroll Powe (suspected concussion) both skated at morning skate Tuesday. However, they also ended up joining the practice squad with players who have been scratches in the playoffs, so it doesn’t look like either will return.

The Rangers are still waiting for Ryane Clowe to return, as the recently acquired forward remains out.

1:15 p.m.: The Bruins wrapped up an optional morning skate at Madison Square Garden just a little while ago, and B’s coach Claude Julien offered an update on some of the injured defensemen.

Julien said he’d be surprised if Dennis Seidenberg played in Game 3, as the veteran D-man remains out with a lower-body injury. Seidenberg appears to be progressing, but Julien says it looks like Seidenberg isn’t quite there yet.

Wade Redden remains day-to-day for the Bruins as well. He’s been out since the middle of the first-round series with Toronto, and while he’s also progressing in his recovery, his status for Wednesday night is still up in the air.

8 a.m. ET: The Bruins have looked very impressive through two games of their Eastern Conference second-round series with the New York Rangers, and the B’s are now in position to really make this series a laugher.

The Bruins and Rangers will meet Tuesday night for Game 3 of the conference semifinals, where Boston will have a chance to go up 3-0 in the best-of-seven series. Boston took the first two games of the series, winning Game 1 in overtime before trouncing New York 5-2 in Game 2 on Sunday in Boston.

Arguably the biggest difference has been the play of the goaltenders. Tuukka Rask has been the goalie who looks like one of the best in the world, not Henrik Lundqvist, through two games. Rask has given up just four goals in the two games, while Lundqvist has already given up eight through two.

Of course, that’s not all on the goaltenders. The Bruins have also dominated the play in front of the goalies as well, with the most notable contributions coming from a trio of rookie defensemen in Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski. At least one of those players may be banished to the press box for Game 3, however. Veteran defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden were both on the ice at Bruins practice Monday, which seems to indicate they’re getting healthy. If either of them are ready for Game 3, it will make for a difficult decision for Bruins coach Claude Julien. Given the way the young guys have played, however, that’s a pretty good dilemma to have to solve.

Puck drop from Madison Square Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Despite a Stanley Cup banner just two years old hanging from the TD Garden rafters, there was reason to believe that some pretty big changes might have been coming in the following days and weeks. Of course, the B’s staged an improbable comeback, scoring three goals in the final 11 minutes to tie the game before winning it in overtime. A week later, Boston is just two wins from reaching the Eastern Conference finals.

That has obviously eased any bubbling tension that may be ready to boil over had the Bruins made a quick exit out of the playoffs. However, Bruins president Cam Neely says that the relationship between himself, general manager Peter Chiarelli and head coach Claude Julien remains effective, despite what anyone else might say.

Any perceived rifts between any of those organizational layers, Neely says, might be overstated.

“But let’s be honest, I don’t care what relationship you’re in, you’re going to have disagreements,” Neely said on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Tuesday afternoon. “That happens. I think that’s healthy. I don’t think anyone would want all three of us to feel the exact same way about Bruins hockey. We have our discussions, we have our disagreements, but overall, we all feel the same way about how we want our club to play and the expectations of our club.”

Neely acknowledged the difficulties the team faced in a short season, but was quick to add that any issues don’t fall solely on Chiarelli or Julien.

“It can’t just be put on coaches and managers,” Neely said. “It’s easy to say we have to get rid of this guy, but sometimes finding a replacement isn’t as easy as one thinks.”

Obviously, as long as the regime and team remain the same, so, too, will the organization’s No. 1 goal.

“Right now, I’m not going into specifics, but I feel like we have a good group that is pulling in the same direction and ultimately we all want the same thing; to continue to win championships,” Neely added. “We have a staff in place that worked really well together and are very committed to do just that and continue to try and bring championships to Boston.”

Listen to the entire interview by clicking here.

If playing your game — and succeeding at playing your game — are the true barometers for comfort in sports, then it would appear the Bruins rookie defenseman is more than comfortable right now. With injuries taking their toll on the Boston blue line, Krug, along with Matt Bartkowski and Dougie Hamilton, have been called on to play some big minutes in the club’s second-round series with the Rangers.

All have been impressive in a variety of ways, but none of them have contributed on the stat sheet through two games against New York like Krug has. The Michigan State product scored his first career goal in Game 1, and he followed that up with a goal and an assist in Game 2.

It’s not just the points Krug is putting up but also the way that he’s doing it that has been so impressive. Krug’s undeniable offensive skill was on display Sunday in Game 2 on both of the goals he was involved in. He scored the team’s first goal in the first period, when he sprinted up to join the rush before jumping into the offensive zone to take a pass from Nathan Horton. Krug’s speed put him a little ahead of the puck, but he was able to tip the puck to slow it down before putting it through his legs, steadying it and then firing one through Henrik Lundqvist.

Krug did it again in the second period, when he used his right skate to kick a pass from Adam McQuaid to his stick before putting it at the net. The puck deflected off New York defenseman Dan Girardi‘s skate right to Gregory Campbell in the slot, and the Boston center roofed one under the crossbar by Lundqvist.

“Yeah, that’s a skill that sometimes you work on it after practice,” Krug stated simply about the nifty footwork. “You don’t have to work on it too much. It’s just a couple extra reps here or there at the end, picking up pucks with your feet. So, it’s just something that I try to do, and I was lucky enough that it bounced my way.”

Krug’s contributions weren’t all quantifiable by numbers, though. He also logged some power play and penalty kill time, and he looked incredibly poised and comfortable with the puck on his stick. At one point in the second period, with the Bruins on the power play, Krug skated the puck (backwards, mind you) across the point before setting up a scoring chance on the man-advantage. Paired with Hamilton at the point on the second power play unit, Krug gave the Bruins and their fans a look that they could be seeing quite a lot of in the coming years.

“The last thing you want to do is get those guys to play on their heels or play afraid to make a mistake,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said. “Confidence goes a long way in this game. When coaches are able to give players confidence, it shows, because it makes a big difference.”

Despite the impressive performance, Krug only ended up logging 12:56 of ice time, which was the lowest of any Bruins defenseman. That’s all part of the balancing act that Julien must master in order to make sure that Krug’s talent and skill set are fully utilized, but not to the point that he becomes exposed and hurts the club during the most important time of the year.

But so far, Julien and the Bruins are pushing the right buttons when it comes to the rookie D-men, especially Krug. His confidence — judging by both his play and his words — is high right now, which is of utmost importance for success at this time of year.

“Yeah, well, I’m a player,” Krug said. “I’m [5-foot-9], I’m not very big, I have to play with the puck to be an impact player. So, for me you’ve got to be confident with the puck. If I’m not making plays, I’m not going to be effective, and guys are going to go out there, and they’re just going to find a [6-foot-2] guy that can do the same thing without the puck. So, you just got to be confident and play with the puck.”

So far, so good for Krug. As the Bruins’ veteran defensemen get healthy, Julien and his coaching staff will have a difficult decision to make as to what to do with the lineup. Krug has made that choice a tough one for the B’s, and it’s also the same reason they’re just two wins away from advancing.

Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden both returned to practice Monday morning for the Bruins, and both players will travel with the team to New York for Game 3 against the Rangers on Tuesday. However, it’s uncertain whether or not either or both will be in the lineup for Game 3.

“ [Seidenberg]‘s getting closer,” Bruins coach Claude Julien told reporters after practice. “Whether it’s next game or not, we’ll see how he feels [Tuesday].

“As far as players in and out, it’s cut and dry with us. I need the OK from the medical staff, which is the doctors and the trainers. And after they’ve given me the okay, then it becomes my decision. There’s no gray area when it comes to that stuff.”

Where the grey area is, however, is what Julien would do if Seidenberg and/or Redden are healthy enough to return in Game 3. The B’s have gotten great contributions from Dougie Hamilton, Torey Krug and Matt Bartkowski in Games 1 and 2, two wins for Boston. Those three combined for two goals and four assists and were a combined plus-3 in the first two games of the series.

Unsurprisingly, Julien wasn’t willing to discuss any possible changes until he knows more about the health of Seidenberg and Redden.

“Well, the best thing to do is to cross that bridge when you get to it,” Julien said. “To procrastinate about it right now is a lot of wasted time where it could be putting it on different areas of our game. When that time comes, whether it’s [Tuesday] morning or whatever, I’ll be ready to make the decision. That’s what they want me to do as a coach, and that’s what I keep doing whether it’s right or wrong.”

Seidenberg, who had logged at least 21:32 of ice time in Games 1-6 of the first-round series against Toronto, played just 37 seconds in Game 7 before suffering an injury. He hasn’t played since then. Redden, meanwhile, hasn’t seen action since Game 5 of the Toronto series.

The goalie gingerly slid his Rangers jacket on, with a painful grimace on his face as he did so before answering questions from the media. As he answered the questions, he grabbed at his left shoulder a couple of times, leading one to assume that he was dealing with some sort of injury.

“It’s my shoulder,” he admitted after the game. “We’ll see. We’ll take a look at it.”

After Rangers practice Tuesday, Lundqvist once again discussed the shoulder injury, but he was also quick to admit that the injury wasn’t anything major.

“Yeah, it’s under control,” Lundqvist said, according to NorthJersey.com. “I landed on the ice awkwardly and hurt it a little bit. It’s under control. Everybody’s sore. It’s the playoffs. You can’t sit out [because] it’s hurting a little bit. it happens, and you just have to make sure you do the right things to keep it good.”

The shoulder injury will certainly be something to keep an eye on as the series shifts back to New York for Game 3 on Tuesday night. Lundqvist gave up five goals in Game 2, marking the first time he’d been scored on five times since March 9, 2011, against Anaheim.

Lundqvist was wearing that ballcap as he turned to face the media following his showing in the Rangers’ 5-2 loss to the Bruins in Game 2 of their second-round playoff series. Of course, after allowing a season-high five goals against the B’s, Lundqvist was nothing more than a pauper between the pipes on Sunday afternoon in Boston.

The all-world goalie, the goalie who many see as the best in the world, didn’t exactly prove it in Game 2. But it’s not like it was totally his fault, either, at least not according to him.

“I thought I was in position but [there were] a couple screens and when you give up five goals you can’t be satisfied obviously,” Lundqvist said. “You have to look at the way they scored goals, too. It’s about teamwork out there and today it didn’t really work for us. We just have to talk it through and I have to better and the guys in front of me have to step it up as well.”

In Lundqvist’s defense, the Rangers made some horrible plays in their own end in front of him. Whether it was anything Dan Girardi did at any point when he was in his own end or Derek Brassard‘s uninspired back-check on Milan Lucic‘s third-period goal, or anything in between, the Rangers certainly weren’t airtight defensively.

But still, if you’re going to be one of the best goalies in the world, you can’t let a team hang a five-spot on you in the playoffs. Yet the Vezina finalist was beyond reproach when it came to his head coach discussing his play after the game.

“I’m not evaluating our goaltending,” Rangers coach John Tortorella said after the game. “I don’t need to evaluate Henrik. We know what Henrik is.”

Lundqvist entered the 2013 season having dominated the Bruins in his time with the Rangers. However, the Bruins have started to solve the riddle, relatively speaking. The B’s had scored at least three goals in all four of their games against Lundqvist leading up to Game 2 in which they hung five on him. The Bruins continue to do all of the little things right, and that’s not only helping them get pucks by the usually impenetrable Lundqvist, but it also has Boston halfway to advancing to the Eastern Conference finals.

“I think playing the Bruins is about paying attention to details in the game and I think they have been the better team in that department,” Lundqvist offered. “All the details in the game, they play a solid team game and so do we but when you lack that little bit it’s a tough game. But I’m confident and I’m going to go home and try to play a strong game in the next one.”

However, it also helps that Lundqvist might not be at 100 percent right now. He seemed to be favoring his left arm in the third period, and he grimaced as he put on his windbreaker before addressing the media in the New York dressing room.

“It’s my shoulder,” he confirmed. “We’ll see. We’ll take a look at it.”

Whether it’s getting healthy, improving his play or a little bit of both, something needs to change for Lundqvist and the Rangers moving forward. If not, this series will be over very soon.

That seems like a long time ago now, as that secret Bruins switch has apparently been flipped for third periods as well. The B’s, leading 3-2 after two on Sunday, scored twice in the third period to cruise to a 5-2 win over the Rangers in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals against the New York Rangers.

The Bruins twisted the knife in the biggest way Sunday afternoon to ensure the third-period lead would stand up. All it took was 26 seconds for the B’s to strike in the third period as Brad Marchand took a pass from Patrice Bergeron and put it under Henrik Lundqvist. The goal blew the lid off TD Garden — at least for those who had returned from intermission beer breaks — and it gave the Bruins a soft two-goal cushion to sit on.

“Guys are really trying to stay focused on doing their job in the third period,” Marchand said, while also admitting the club has turned it on now that the playoffs are here.

“We know how important they are, especially after what we went through being down by a few goals. We know that it’s possible for any team to come back from any score, so we want to make sure we don’t let up.”

Perhaps most important for the Bruins in the third period was the fact that not only did they not sit on the one-goal lead, they didn’t sit on the two-goal lead. Milan Lucic scored at the 12:39 mark of the third period to turn it into a rout. Lucic showed no quit going to the net before jamming home a second-chance opportunity.

“We talked about it before we went out there in the third period, and we just had to make sure that we played to win,” Bruins head coach Claude Julien said. “I didn’t want our guys playing on their heels, and you hear me say that a lot. I don’t like our team when we play on our heels and we’re just trying to protect a one-goal lead.

“We’ve got to extend the lead and extend it even more before we even think about protecting it. But our guys are smart, they put pucks at the next, they went to the net hard, we won battles for those loose pucks, and we found a way to score those goals.”

In the process, the Bruins were also able to put the pressure on a Rangers team that seemed to be gaining momentum entering the third period. The Rangers spoke after the game about how they thought they played well in the second period, and the Bruins certainly put a stop to that early in the third period.

“We felt really good going into the third, and to have that type of goal go in on just a two-on-two, it hurts you,” admitted New York coach John Tortorella.

“It’s momentum swings, they gained a lot off of that,” New York captain Ryan Callahan added in regards to the Bruins’ quick start to the third. “You try to get it back, you try to keep pushing I thought we did a little bit, but then they get another one and obviously at that point it’s tough to come back from a three-goal deficit in the third period.”

The Bruins have done a lot of things better now that the regular season has given way to the playoffs. The B’s have been a better team in just about every aspect of the game, especially playing with a lead in the third period. At this time of the year, there’s no overstating how important that is in making a deep postseason run.

Third period, 18:00, Bruins 5-2: There are two minutes to play, and the Bruins are still leading by three.

Third period, 13:09, Bruins 5-2: The fun continues, this time with the fisticuffs.

Gregory Campbell and Derek Dorsett just dropped the gloves not long after the Milan Lucic goal.

Third period, 12:39, Bruins 5-2: This one is officially a laugher.

Milan Lucic continues to play extremely well in these playoffs, and this time it’s a gritty second-chance goal to give the Bruins the three-goal lead.

Third period, 10:32, Bruins 4-2: The Bruins were able to kill off the New York penalty behind a couple of more saves from Tuukka Rask.

A few minutes later Jaromir Jagr had a brilliant chance for a one-timer goal from just in front of the net, but Henrik Lundqvist denied Jagr with arguably the best save of the series.

Third period, 5:24, Bruins 4-2: Johnny Boychuk just earned himself a hooking penalty. So that’s what the Bruins will be working on for the next two minutes.

Third period, 0:26, Bruins 4-2: That didn’t take long at all.

Patrice Bergeron just found Brad Marchand in the slot, and the latter slid the puck through Henrik Lundqvist’s legs, and the B’s have a 4-2 lead now.

Third period, 0:01, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins and Rangers are underway here in the third period.

Second period reaction: The Bruins, for the first time all game, were able to sit on a lead there in the second period. After Johnny Boychuk made it 3-2 with 7:52 to play in the period, the B’s were able to make the lead stand up until intermission, after coughing up early leads just moments after taking them.

Of course it’s not extremely important for the Bruins to protect that lead here into the third period, which is something that has given them troubles all season long. It’s going to require another big period from Tuukka Rask who is a big reason Boston took the 3-2 lead to the dressing room after two. Rask has 25 saves through 40 minutes, and it certainly won’t hurt to have him at his best in overtime.

If the Bruins do hold on, you can probably exect Torey Krug to be donning the Army Rangers jacket after the game. The rookie has been sensational here in Game 2, and he’s got two points to show that. His ability to handle the puck at the blue line in the offensive end is something that’s obviously pretty special. He did a great job of finding a shooting lane on the Bruins’ second goal that came when Krug put the puck on net and Gregory Campbell backhanded the rebound.

The Bruins were 15-4-4 when taking a lead into the third period during the regular season, but they’re 2-0 this postseason when leading after two periods.

End second period, Bruins 3-2: The second period comes to a close with Boston leading 3-2.

Second period, 17:59, Bruins 3-2: The Rangers weren’t able to score on the power play, but it wasn’t for a lack of chances. They put some good pressure on the Bruins as they have all afternoon really, but Tuukka Rask came up big in between the pipes.

He’s quietly having a very nice game, and he’s getting better as the game goes on it seems.

Second period, 13:57, Bruins 3-2: The Rangers have another power play, again thanks to a Rich Peverley high-sticking penalty.

Second period, 12:00, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins are back out in front thanks to a great shot from the high slot off the stick of Johnny Boychuk.

The Boston defenseman beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrister, with a little help from a Patrice Bergeron screen in front.

Second period, 11:46, 2-2: The B’s weren’t able to get anything on the power play, but they did get a couple of scoring chances on pucks tipped near the net.

Torey Krug looked impressive with the puck on his stick, as he wheeled and dealed from the point during that man-advantage on the second PP unit with Dougie Hamilton at the other point up top.

Second period, 8:28, 2-2: The Bruins are going to get their first power play after Derrick Brassard hooked Dougie Hamilton.

Second period, 6:09, 2-2: The Rangers have gotten a significant jump from the Rick Nash goal, and they’re starting to put the pressure on the Bruins.

Tuukka Rask just ensured the game stay tied for now, though, with a big save on a rebound chance from Ryan McDonagh. After Rask made an initial save on Nash, McDonagh tried to slam home the rebound, but Rask made the right pad save in front.

Second period, 3:20, 2-2: The Rangers have been looking to get something out of Rick Nash, and they got it here in the second period.

The prominent goal-scorer just tied the game with a backhander by Tuukka Rask less than a minute after Gregory Campbell gave the B’s a lead.

Second period, 2:24, Bruins 2-1: Shawn Thornton spoke before the game about how he wished his line could finally cash in on their chances to add some balance to the scoring. They just did that here in the second period.

Campbell backhanded the rebound of a Torey Krug shot under the crossbar, and the B’s lead 2-1.

Second period, 0:10, 1-1: The second period is underway.

First period reaction: The first few minutes of this game were highly entertaining, thanks in large part to a couple of early goals. Unsurprisingly, however, the game tightened up after that, something that should come as no surprise given these teams’ penchant for defensive play.

Torey Krug got the scoring going early for the Bruins, and he continues to impress in his improbable playoff chance with the B’s. Both he and Matt Bartkowski have been really good in both Games 1 and 2, and Dougie Hamilton, despite being outplayed for a puck in the first period, has been good as well.

Give the Rangers credit for withstanding an early surge from the Bruins. The B’s came out like a house of fire to begin the game, and that reached a high point when Krug scored just 5:28 in. However, the Rangers took the punch and punched back. New York made it much more difficult for the Bruins to move the puck, and that obviously slowed Boston’s momentum.

End first period, 1-1: The Bruins killed off the penalty to Zdeno Chara before the first period comes to an end.

It’s all tied up 1-1 through one.

First period, 17:31, 1-1: The Bruins will try to kill off another penalty, this time to Zdeno Chara.

He was called for slashing, and the B’s get back to work on the PK.

First period, 16:22, 1-1: The young Bruins defensemen continue to do a great job of moving the puck and they continue to just look very confident.

Matt Bartkowski was just the latest to prove that by carrying the puck all the way behind the New York net, back around the other side and out to the point.

First period, 12:33, 1-1: The Bruins’ power play is nothing special, but boy does it look like a well-oiled machine compared to New York’s.

The B’s easily kill off the Rich Peverley penalty on a power play that produced no shots on goal. The Rangers had a difficult time just getting the puck into the Boston zone as they turned it over a handful of times on the man-advantage.

First period, 9:16, 1-1: New York gets the first power play of the day.

Rich Peverley was just called for high-sticking.

First period, 8:01, 1-1: The Rangers aren’t gonna go away that easy.

Ryan Callahan just won a race to the puck in the neutral zone that allowed him to walk in all alone and score the game-tying goal, a brilliant deke to beat Tuukka Rask.

The play started with an ugly Brad Marchand turnover, which was then misplayed by Dougie Hamilton who couldn’t beat Callahan to the loose puck.

First period, 5:28, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins look great breaking out the puck right now, and it resulted in a goal.

Adam McQuaid made a great diving play to break up a scoring chance for Brian Boyle, which sent the B’s heading the other way. Torey Krug hustled back into the offensive zone, and he was rewarded when Nathan Horton hit him with a pass as the D-man entered the zone.

Krug skated in and took the shot from the left wing and beat Henrik Lundqvist. Not a bad couple of playoff games for No. 47.

First period, 0:01, 0-0: It’s time to play the game. Game 2 is underway here at TD Garden.

3:06 p.m.: Both teams are going with the same lineups for Game 2 as they did for Game 1.

2:48 p.m.: The Bruins look to be going with the same lineup for Game 2 as they used in Game 1. They featured the same lines and defensive combinations during their pregame skate, including the three rookie defensemen.

Here’s what the lineup will look like, according to the skate. If you don’t have it down by now, start paying attention, will ya?

Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Jaromir Jagr
Rich Peverley — Chris Kelly — Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Johnny Boychuk — Matt Bartkowski
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid

2:30 p.m.: Claude Julien was extremely brief in his pregame remarks. He answered just one question (only one was asked), and it was about an update on the lineup.

Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden both skated this morning, but neither will play in Game 2.

1:20 p.m.: Good afternoon from TD Garden where the Bruins and Rangers are about two hours from getting underway and where we’re about 30 minutes from hearing from Bruins head coach Claude Julien.

When we do hear from the head coach, we should get a better idea of what the B’s will do on the blue line. As mentioned earlier, the B’s are reportedly going with the same defense corps for Game 1 as they did in Game 2. The one thing we know for certain is that Zdeno Chara will be in the lineup, and we’re pretty sure he’s going to play a ton.

I did some digging on the stats page in regards to Chara’s ice time this postseason, and it’s pretty remarkable. The only skater who has played more than Chara this postseason is Kings defenseman Drew Doughty. The Los Angeles D-man has 13 more minutes of ice time than Chara does this spring. Oh yeah, that’s also in one more game than Chara has played. Doughty is a minutes machine, and he has been all season long. It’s probably worth noting that Doughty is also only 23 years while Chara is 36.

Chara is also averaging 30:05 minutes of ice time per game for the playoffs, which is nothing short of absurd. That’s about 2 1/2 more minutes per game than he played in the Stanley Cup run back in 2011.

11:20 a.m.: The Bruins won Game 1 despite starting three rookies on defense, and it sounds like they’re going to have to go with the youthful trio again in Game 2.

TSN’s Darren Dreger just tweeted that Wade Redden isn’t ready to return, and it looks like the Bruins will go with the three rookies — Matt Bartkowski, Dougie Hamilton and Torey Krug — for Game 2 as well.

11 a.m. ET: The Bruins have had a flare for the dramatics this week, and if they can do so with success again Sunday, they’ll end a pretty impressive week of hockey, and they’ll also head to New York with a pretty comfortable lead.

The B’s host the Rangers on Sunday afternoon in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference semifinals series, and Boston is looking to follow up on an exciting Game 1 win. Brad Marchand finally broke out by scoring a game-winning goal in overtime to give the Bruins the win and the series lead.

Marchand played his best game of the playoffs in Game 1, and he did so in the second game of Claude Julien’s line experiment. Marchand was skating with Patrice Bergeron and Jaromir Jagr, while Tyler Seguin was on the third line; those were also the same lines the Bruins used in Game 7 of the first round against Toronto. The Marchand-Bergeron-Jagr combination looked solid all night, and unsurprisingly, that line was kept together at practice Saturday, so it’s likely that’s what the B’s go with again in Game 2.

The Rangers, meanwhile, are looking to jump-start themselves after a somewhat lackluster Game 1. The power play has been a point of contention, and it got the Rangers nothing in Game 1 as well. That led Rangers coach John Tortorella to say the man-advantage unit “stinks” right now, which makes you believe there may be a change.

We’ll get a better idea of that a little later when the Bruins and Rangers get underway in Game 2, with puck drop scheduled for 3 p.m. at TD Garden.

It was nothing, assured Bruins coach Claude Julien, and sure enough, Marchand was out there for Game 1 against the New York Rangers just a few hours later.

The next time Marchand left the Garden ice, however, his departure was met with exultation.

Marchand played the role of hero in Game 1 of the Bruins’ second-round series with the New York Rangers. The pesky forward scored the game-winning goal 15:40 into overtime, allowing the Bruins to skate off winners in the series opener.

“There was nothing there,” Julien said of the apparent injury. “It was very minor. It might have looked major to you guys, but that’s why I said he’d be fine tonight. Maybe that’s what he needed to do, to get off the ice a little early to score that winning goal. Whatever works is good for us.”

Marchand could likely get behind that plan.

“I’m serious. I wanted to get off the ice,” Marchand joked in the dressing room after the game. “Claude knows I hate morning skates. He used to yell at me when we won the [Stanley] Cup there because I wouldn’t even take a stride. I just wanted to get off early.”

The game-winner was certainly a big goal for Marchand, who was coming off a first-round series that was short on production and big on frustration for both Marchand and his linemates. Julien eventually decided that it was time to change things up. He did so by pairing Marchand and Patrice Bergeron with Jaromir Jagr in Game 7 of the Toronto series. It showed signs of working in that game, and the success carried over into Game 1 against New York, Marchand’s best game of the playoffs so far.

The fresh look, both with a new linemate and starting a new series against a new team, seemed to jump-start Marchand. He was much more active, skating hard and making a difference in all three zones.

“Yeah, it’s a whole new series, and we’re happy to play the Rangers,” Marchand said after breaking through with his first goal of the playoffs, and his first goal overall since April 21. “They’re a very good team and a very good battle. It’s nice to finally get one there and get the monkey off the back, and hopefully they keep coming.”

The Boston forward, who led the Bruins in goals this season, also got a little bit of encouragement from a former teammate. Mark Recchi, who won a Stanley Cup with Marchand in 2011, texted his former teammate to offer a little advice.

“He just texted me and told me to play my game and not to worry about anything else,” Marchand said. “The goals and stuff will come. It’s nice to hear from him. He’s obviously a guy that I went through a lot when I played with him, and it was good to hear from him again.”

Marchand certainly took the advice to heart, and he showed it with his play in Game 1.

Marchand played 22:17, scoring the game-winner, adding an assist and putting three shots on net while even blocking three in the defensive end. It was a much more complete effort for Marchand, something that Julien has been searching high and low for.

“I thought Brad, personally, that was one of his better games so far in the playoffs,” Julien said. “He skated well, made some great plays, took pucks to the net, and that’s the Brad Marchand we know. It was nice to see him really bring his A-game to the table tonight.”

That’s because the Bruins captain had just played an astounding 38 minutes and two seconds of hockey in Boston’s 3-2 overtime win over the New York Rangers in Game 1 of their second-round series. But there Chara was, taking what seemed like just a leisurely stroll into the press conference room to field questions from the waiting media, like it was just another day.

He did so wearing the custom-made Army Rangers jacket that the club hands out among themselves to the player of the game following each win. Chara certainly earned it in Game 1. The 36-year-old buoyed a makeshift defensive corps for the Bruins that had a trio of young defensemen, including two players who were in Providence last week and a rookie who can barely vote, let alone drink.

Chara’s Herculean effort is even more impressive when you consider he was doing so just 72 hours after logging 35:46 of ice time in a Game 7 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

“I’m just trying to help the team as much as I can,” Chara flatly stated. “Whatever [head coach Claude Julien] feels comfortable putting me out there, I’m fine with that.”

Chara obviously did that and more in Game 1, but most importantly, he was a stabilizing influence on the Bruins’ back end. Those minutes are obviously huge, but they’re even bigger when Chara is logging them for a defensive corps featuring the likes of Torey Krug, Dougie Hamilton and Matt Bartkowski instead of battled-tested veterans like Dennis Seidenberg, Andrew Ference and Wade Redden.

It’s no surprise that on a night that Chara played so well and so much that the aforementioned trio of rookies also stepped their game up a bit.

“Any time you have young players put in a role like this, it’s not easy,” Chara said. “They handled it pretty good. They tried to play a simple game and it’s working. I’m sure it’s going to be more challenging, but we just gotta help them out as much as we can.”

Helping those rookies along isn’t necessarily something Chara has to do, but then again, it does kind of come with the territory as the team’s captain and a perennial Norris Trophy contender.

“You try to talk to them on the ice as much as you can,” Chara said of trying to help the youngsters along. “The coaches do their part also. Also, you’ve gotta let them play. The way they naturally like to play, so that’s the biggest thing. Like I said, it’s something that’s never easy for any player to come in and be put in a spot like this. We’ve gotta make sure as a unit of five that we all play a certain way to make it easier on certain situations.”

No doubt that impact is felt by Chara’s young apprentices.

“It’s huge,” Bartkowski said of Chara’s impact. “If we didn’t have a guy who could log all those minutes — I’m dead tired and I can’t imagine what he feels like. That’s huge, and he performs every shift. It’s not like he’s just out there taking up space. It’s huge for the team.”

Of course, Chara’s Game 1 wasn’t just logging big minutes, shutting down New York’s top forwards and doing some on-ice mentoring. Chara logged big, heavy minutes, but they were good minutes. He scored the team’s first goal, added an assist, put a game-high nine shots on goal, had six hits and was a plus-2. He also made a crucial poke check that led to Brad Marchand‘s game-winner in overtime.

It’s another ho-hum effort for one of the game’s best defenseman, another effort that won’t ever be overlooked by anyone in the Bruins’ dressing room or coaching staff.

“Zdeno does those things over and over and that’s why I said to people that even though he hasn’t been nominated for a Norris [lately], he’s our Norris Trophy winner every year by the amount he’s played and the way he’s played,” Julien said. “The players he plays against, and he continues to do that. We appreciate that kind of play from him a lot. This is the kind of thing you get from Zdeno and [Thursday] wasn’t any different. “

Final, Bruins 3-2: 

The forward went straight to the net on a rush, Patrice Bergeron hit him with a beautiful pass and the B’s win.

Overtime, 10:51, 2-2: Johnny Boychuk has twice had the chance to win this game, and both times he hit the post.

Boychuk almost ended it in overtime, but the puck caught the post to Henrik Lundqvist’s right and we play on.

The Bruins are outshooting New York in overtime 11-2 so far.

Overtime, 5:00, 2-2: The Bruins got a ton of chances, but they didn’t score on the power play. That was two minutes of domination.

Overtime, 2:20, 2-2: Here’s something rare. An overtime penalty.

The B’s go on the power play after Derek Dorsett is called for interference.

Overtime, 0:01, 0:00: For the second time this week, overtime has begun.

End third period, 2-2: Whoa.

The Bruins really brought it in the final moments of the third period, and they did everything but score on the power play. The B’s got a couple of really good chances, but one of those was slowed by a fearless Dan Girardi just throwing himself around the ice blocking shots.

Johnny Boychuk had a chance of his own at the buzzer, but the defenseman hit the post with an absolute blast from the right point.

Third period, 17:51, 2-2: With 25 seconds left in the power play, the man-advantage ends for New York, and not with a goal.

John Moore was just called for interference, and that ends the power play, and it will give the B’s 1:35 of a power play once 4-on-4 play ends.

Third period, 16:16, 2-2: The Bruins will have to kill off yet another penalty.

This time it’s because Patrice Bergeron was just called for hooking.

Third period, 14:32, 2-2: Tuukka Rask gave up that goal early in the period, but he’s been rock solid since. He just made a nice blocker save on Steve Eminger as the New York defenseman jumped on a puck in the Boston zone and put it on net.

Matt Bartkowski continues to have a nice night. After breaking a stick in the neutral zone, Bartkowski just did the only thing he could do to slow the rush — deck Rick Nash with a body check in open ice. Good stuff so far from the Boston rookie.

Third period, 8:38, 2-2: The Bruins are turning it on here in the third period, and the pace of play is certainly picking up.

David Krejci just had a brilliant chance as he stickhandled through the slot and then put a shot toward the net that beat Henrik Lundqvist, but the puck hit the crossbar. The Bruins are certainly buzzing right now, and they’re getting chances.

Third period, 2:55, 2-2: Scoring. So much scoring.

Torey Krug makes the Rangers pay for the penalty, as he just scored his first career playoff goal. He beat Henrik Lundqivst with a shot from just above the left circle.

Third period, 1:09, Rangers 2-1: The Bruins will get a chance to tie it up on the power play.

Steve Eminger was called for holding.

Third period, 0:14, Rangers 2-1: That didn’t take long.

Derek Stepan just scored to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead. We talked about potential momentum, and apparently it did carry over, with the second Rangers goal in 15.3 seconds of game time.

Second period reaction: That’s not the way the Bruins wanted to end the period, not one bit. That could prove to be an absolutely crippling goal, especially if the Rangers are able to sustain momentum through the intermission and into the third period.

Both teams were able to get on the board there in the second period, and both teams did it with kind of fluky goals. Again, expect that to continue to throughout the entire series. These teams are just too good on the blue line to fall apart defensively. On that now, however, it was bizarre to see Henrik Lundqvist give up a relatively soft goal. He should have had Zdeno Chara’s shot from the point, but he just couldn’t control it, and the puck squeezed through.

At the other end, it was defensive breakdowns, poor puck management and an inability to clear the zone that led to Ryan McDonagh’s goal. Tyler Seguin, who hasn’t been anything spectacular through two periods, coughed it up, and it cost the B’s dearly.

Second period, 19:58, 1-1: The Bruins couldn’t clear their own zone in the final seconds of the period, and it cost them.

Ryan McDonagh beat Tuukka Rask from the left point up over the goalie’s left shoulder with just 1.3 seconds to play in the period.

We’ll go to the intermission tied 1-1.

Second period, 16:13, Bruins 1-0: The Bruins were able to kill off the penalty with relative ease.

Second period, 13:52, Bruins 1-0: Shortly after the goal, the Bruins have to go back on the penalty kill.

Adam McQuaid was just called for interference, and the PK is back out on the ice.

Second period, 12:23, Bruins 1-0: Henrik Lundqvist may be one of the best in the game, but even he makes mistakes. That’s the case here, and the Bruins lead 1-0 because of it.

Lundqvist couldn’t quite close the pads on a Zdeno Chara slap shot form the point, and the puck eventually trickles through. Nathan Horton definitely helped it along.

Second period, 11:56, 0-0: The Bruins did a good job of coming out of that TV timeout and reversing the momentum some.

They just got a couple of good shifts, and that led to arguably the club’s best chance of the second period. Zdeno Chara put a shot toward the net from the point that looked to be tipped in the high slot by Nathan Horton. Either way, Henrik Lundqvist made the save.

The Bruins also just got another solid shift out of the Patrice Bergeron line, but blocked shots slowed that down.

Second period, 9:39, 0-0: The Bruins killed off the penalty, and we finally get a TV timeout a few minutes later after whistle-less play.

The Rangers are starting to pressure the B’s a little bit both with the power play and the few minutes that followed. They’re getting in the forecheck, and they’re also making it pretty difficult for the Bruins to get the puck through the neutral zone.

Second period, 4:38, 0-0: Zdeno Chara was just called for hooking, which means the Rangers will get a power play of their own now.

Second period, 4:26, 0-0: As far as Bruins power plays go, that was one of the better ones that didn’t end with a goal.

The B’s got a couple of good chances including shots from the right wing from both Tyler Seguin and David Krejci, but one hit the side of the net and the other was stopped.

Second period, 2:22, 0-0: The Bruins get the first power play of the night, but it might have come out at a price.

Tyler Pyatt is going off for boarding after planting Johnny Boychuk in the corner. Boychuk was definitely shaken up, but it looks like he’ll stay on the bench for now.

The Bruins have a chance to grab the lead on the power play now.

Second period, 0:01, 0-0: The second period is underway, and Michael Del Zotto is back for the Rangers. He took a puck up near the head after blocking a Patrice Bergeron shot in the first and he left the ice. He’s good to go now apparently.

First period reaction: Did you miss the first period? If so, you didn’t miss much at all.

The Bruins and Rangers are scoreless through one, which really isn’t that much of a surprise given the way these two teams play. It’s really all about defense, which may make these head coaches happy, but it doesn’t make for the most entertaining hockey.

With it being scoreless, it must mean that the Bruins’ young D-men are doing at least a decent job, right? Yeah, pretty much. They’ve all been good enough, and I’ve been especially impressed with Matt Bartkowski. He’s already seen 8:17 of ice time, which is second only to Zdeno Chara on either team through 20 minutes. Torey Krug has been decent, and he showed a willingness to get a little nasty when he dumped the much bigger Brian Boyle into the Boston cage after a whistle.

The Rangers have been just as good, if not better defensively. Henrik Lundqvist is still one of the best goalies on the planet, and he extended his shutout streak to 140:00 with a scoreless first. The Rangers helped that along by blocking 10 shots in the first, but the Bruins do lead in shots 11-8 through one.

End first period, 0-0: The first period just came to an end with a flurry of activity at the New York net. It was the Patrice Bergeron line that put some pucks near the net, but they just couldn’t break through  to really get anything on net. Get used to that in this series.

First period, 13:09, 0-0: The Bruins should maybe be trailing 1-0 right now, but Tuukka Rask just got some help from the crossbar.

Michael Del Zotto beat the Bruins goalie with a wrist shot from the left point that beat Rask gloveside, but the puck found iron instead of the back of the net.

The Rangers got another chance shortly thereafter when Zdeno Chara coughed up the puck in his own zone. He and Dougie Hamilton have struggled to get the puck out of their own end so far, and it almost cost them there.

The Bruins have just five shots on goal through the first 13 minutes or so.

First period, 6:29, 0-0: Goals are expected to be at a premium in this series, and so far, that’s been the case, albeit just a few minutes in.

I’ve been keeping an eye on the Bruins’ defensemen — especially the younger guys — and they’ve done a good job so far. Matt Bartkowski looks like he’s getting confidence with every shift in these playoffs.

Meanwhile, the Boston fourth line is doing its job in the early going, getting in there with good, hard forechecks, and they’ve created the best chance for either team so far.

First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is on.

7:13 p.m.: The Bruins are going to go with the same lines as they did in Game 7, per warmups, as are the Rangers.

Here are the Bruins’ defensive pairings.

Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Adam McQuaid — Torey Krug

7 p.m.: The Bruins just took the ice for pregame warmups. Unsurprisingly, they’re without Andrew Ference, Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden.

Brad Marchand is out there as well.

6:45 p.m.: Welcome to TD Garden where it is really cold up here on Level 9, which is press level. That makes sense, given that it’s about 85 degrees outside, so it’s pretty important to keep things cold in here to preserve the integrity of the ice. Say what you want about the new Garden, but at least we’re pretty sure the warm temperatures won’t lead to something like this happening again.

We’re about 15 minutes from pregame skate, so we’ll give an update once that begins when we should at the very least confirm our suspicions about the Game 1 lineup.

4:45 p.m.: The Rangers are going to block a ton of shots in this series. There’s no other way around it. That’s what they do under head coach John Tortorella, and don’t expect it to stop any time soon. They blocked 161 shots in the first round, which was 20 more than the next team, which was coincidentally the Maple Leafs.

“Got to find ways to get pucks to the net,” Claude Julien said after morning skate.  ”Just got to keep your head up when you’re shooting. They’re going to block shots no matter what. We just got to do the best we can do get them on net. When they don’t, well, they can block them and what can I do?

“As a team, you’re going to get some shots blocked because they like doing it. We’re just going to do our best to get them through and make sure they get to the net, and hopefully get some net-front traffic. That’s going to make things a little tougher for their goaltender, that’s not a secret.”

2:30 p.m.: The Rangers haven’t gotten any real good news in terms of some pretty rough injuries. Forwards Ryane Clowe and Darroll Powe are still out with suspected concussions, as is defenseman Marc Staal who remains out with his eye injury.

Here are the lines the Rangers used at practice Wednesday and again at morning skate on Thursday, per NorthJersey.com.

Carl Hagelin — Derek Stepan — Ryan Callahan
Rick Nash — Derick Brassard — Mats Zuccarello
Taylor Pyatt — Brian Boyle — Derek Dorsett
Chris Kreider — Brad Richards — Arron Asham

Ryan McDonagh — Anton Stralman
Dan Girardi — Michael Del Zotto
John Moore — Steve Eminger

2:11 p.m.: The Bruins, as discussed a little earlier, had to make some changes because of their injuries on the blue line. They showed those off at morning skate.

The B’s also used the same lines Thursday morning that they did Wednesday at practice. Here are the lines and D-pairs.

Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Jaromir Jagr
Rich Peverley — Chris Kelly — Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton

Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid

12:17 p.m.: While Marchand is likely playing on Thursday night, the availability of the trio of injured D-men (Seidenberg, Ference, Redden) “doesn’t look good,” according to Julien. -JB

12 p.m.: Brad Marchand will be playing on Thursday night, says head coach Claude Julien, despite the winger leaving morning skate early. Marchand left the ice just 20 minutes in, “wincing in pain,” in what appeared to be an injury. -JB

9 a.m. ET: Believe it or not, the Bruins did not win the Stanley Cup with their Game 7 overtime win over the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night at TD Garden. Far from it, actually.

While the comeback and thrilling OT win was something no one will soon forget, all it really did was get the Bruins through one round of the Stanley Cup playoffs. They’ll get a pretty stern reminder of that Thursday night when the B’s open their second-round series with the No. 6 seeded New York Rangers.

The B’s and Blueshirts are no strangers to each other. They met three times this season, with the Rangers winning twice. Those two wins, however, came in overtime, so the two teams actually both got four points out of the three meetings. After struggling in the season’s first couple of months, the Rangers turned it on late in the season, going 9-2-1 after the trade deadline to make the playoffs. They got a tough test in the first round as well where they had to go seven games to dispatch the No. 3 Washington Capitals. New York used shutouts in Games 6 and 7 from Henrik Lundqvist to win the series.

You can get a full preview of the Bruins-Rangers series by clicking here.

Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

The Blueshirts and B’s share a handful of things in common and both teams play a similar style of hockey. That’s part of the reason many are looking forward to the second-round matchup of the two Original Six rivals. It’s also a reason many aren’t expecting a whole lot of offense, either.

Regardless, Tortorella knows his club will have its hands full when the series begins Thursday in Boston.

“We’re two very similar teams,” the coach told ESPN Radio on Tuesday. “It’s going to be along the boards. It’s going to be about battles. They’re a big, strong team. They win a helluva game last night in their comeback. They’re deep, they’re balanced.

“Both teams play a pretty similar game as far as straight ahead and just grinding it out.”

The Rangers found some success against Boston in the three games the teams played this season, but it wasn’t easy. The Bruins beat the Rangers on opening night way back on Jan. 19, but the he Rangers bounced back a few days later to win an overtime thriller in New York, and they also won in mid-February back in Boston in a shootout.

Tortorella does have some confidence heading into the series, and it’s not necessarily because the Rangers picked up a couple of wins over Boston in the regular season. Instead, it’s the fact that the Rangers have played some good hockey heading into and including their first-round series with Washington that New York won in seven games.

“All of the teams playing right now are good teams,” Tortorella stated. “It’s very difficult to make the playoffs and to now get into the last eight of them, the teams are going to be good. It’s not so much who you’re playing, it’s how you feel about your team. I feel really good about our team. We’re not gonna change too much. We don’t really get involved in the big adjustments that everyone talks about in the playoffs. We’re not changing. We wanna go straight ahead and they’re gonna go straight ahead and as usual, the neutral zone is going to be a very important zone as far as what end you’re going to be playing in.”

Click here to see John Tortorella’s top 10 outbursts >>

A year after winning the Selke Trophy as the league’s best defensive forward, the NHL announced Wednesday that Bergeron is once again a finalist for the award this season. Joining Bergeron as finalists are two more of hockey’s  best two-way players in Chicago’s Jonathan Toews and Detroit’s Pavel Datsyuk.

Bergeron played in 42 of 48 games for the Bruins this season, where he averaged 19:17 ice time per game, top among B’s forwards. Bergeron, one of the team’s best penalty killers, also led the league in faceoff percentage winning 62.1 percent of his draws. Bergeron was also sixth in the league in plus-minus with a plus-24 rating.

Datsyuk is a three-time winner of the award.

The New York Rangers enter the Eastern Conference semifinal series against the B’s as one of the hottest teams in hockey and with one of the game’s best goalies. Henrik Lundqvist was great against the Capitals in the Rangers’ opening series, and there’s no reason to believe he’ll relent against Boston.

On the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask and Zdeno Chara have been the backbone of a strong Bruins defense that was sorely tested against Phil Kessel and the Maple Leafs. With the Boston defense dealing with some serious injury issues, Chara has stepped up in a big way — and the team will need him to do it again.

NESN.com NHL writer Mike Cole stopped by the podcast on Tuesday to break down the magic of the Bruins’ incredible Game 7 victory with NESN Nation’s Dan Duquette. The two also previewed the challenges waiting for the Bruins in the next round and much more.

Listen to the latest episode in the player below, or subscribe on iTunes to download it there.

B’s general manager Peter Chiarelli met with the media Tuesday afternoon just a little more than 12 hours after his team knocked out the Toronto Maple Leafs in Game 7 of their first-round series. As the Bruins shift their attention from the Leafs toward the New York Rangers, they may be left with a makeshift defensive corps.

That’s because Dennis Seidenberg left the game in the first period after just two shifts. The veteran defenseman played just 37 seconds, and last touched the ice just 1:44 into the game. Chiarelli admitted Tuesday that Seidenberg was injured, but the extent of the injury was not known — or not revealed.

Chiarelli also admitted that veteran defenseman Wade Redden is still banged up, and that if there was a game Tuesday night, Redden would not be in the lineup. He didn’t play in Game 7, either.

All of that led the Bruins to recall Torey Krug from the Providence Bruins. The 22-year-old Michigan native has played in just three NHL games, including one this season. He’s played in all seven P-Bruins playoff games, where he has three assists and a team-leading 26 shots on goal.

And while the roster may be retooled in the offseason, it’s unlikely that seismic changes will come this summer, thanks in large part to one of the greatest comebacks in Boston sports history. The B’s scored three goals in the final 11 minutes of the third period and then once more in overtime to improbably come from behind and bounce the Maple Leafs in an unforgettable Game 7.

The pressure of these situations, no matter how much players will deny it, certainly weighs heavy. Bruins forward Milan Lucic, who has been upfront and accountable for his lack of production this season, admitted as much just moments following the breathtaking comeback and win.

“You guys know what it’s been like here the last two years ever since we won [the Stanley Cup in 2011],” Lucic said. “It’s kind of been, like Claude [Julien] said, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde type of team, and he said that after [Sunday's] game, and it was no different in [Game 7]. And I think it’s a special group and we don’t want it to change and everyone has a lot of fun coming to the rink here and being around each other and playing for each other.”

While it may be a special group, it’s a group that certainly doesn’t make it easy on themselves, their coaches or the fans. This is largely the same team that blew a 3-0 series lead in 2010 against the Flyers. It’s also the same group that went down 0-2 against Montreal in the first round a year later only to come back and win Game 7 in overtime on its way to winning a Cup. It’s also pretty much the same group that, as a No. 2 seed, lost to the Capitals last season in the first round.

Those are also the types of setbacks that could certainly bring about change, too.

“They certainly keep you in check. I’m a tired coach, I can tell you that much,” Julien said after the game. “Trying to really find a way to get these guys to give us what we want out of them, and we make it tough on ourselves. We’re being honest here, not being able to close it in Game 5; we’ve had trouble. We’ve always had trouble with the killer instinct. But that’s maybe a fault of ours, but a strength of ours is the character you saw tonight. There’s that fault, and then there’s that character. Somewhere along the way, you try to fix the faults, and hopefully keep that character going. That’s the biggest challenge for me right now. “

That’s obviously a work in progress, a job that Julien and the rest of the Bruins get to continue for at least one more round.

“I’ve always felt the same way that if we play the way we’ve played in the past, we’re good enough to [beat] anybody,” goalie Tuukka Rask said. “But then again, if we’re not playing at our level and if not everybody’s pulling the load, it’s frustrating and probably frustrating for the management, too. I think at times, this series, it was frustrating to watch because we couldn’t create anything and we were getting scored on, but then again, a comeback like this, I’m sure it builds confidence and trust.”