Once again, the Bruins spoiled a spring night by squandering a 3-0 lead. This time, the stakes weren't nearly as high.
The Bruins have already secured their spot in the postseason and guaranteed themselves home ice in the opening round with the Northeast Division title. The Rangers were in a far more desperate situation, coming into the night clinging to the final playoff spot in the East by just one point.
After erasing Boston's three-goal lead and rallying for a 5-3 win in New York, the Rangers are now tied with sixth-place Montreal with 91 points. They remain in seventh because they have less non-shootout wins than the Canadiens, but are now four points ahead of ninth-place Carolina and could end up meeting the Bruins in the opening round.
That wouldn't be good for the Bruins, who have struggled enough against the Rangers this year even before adding the psychological advantage New York will hold after Monday's dramatic comeback.
And after last year's playoff collapse against the Flyers, the last thing the Bruins needed heading into the playoffs was anything to put their fragile confidence at further risk.
After the loss, Bruins coach Claude Julien expressed hope that the latest setback would serve as a learning tool for the Bruins.
"I think that's because we respected the game plan," Julien told reporters of how the Bruins built their 3-0 lead before the collapse. "When we took that 3-0 lead, all of the sudden guys decided to want to get cute again instead of doing the simple things, and that's what normally happens [when you do that]. So at this stage of the season you hope it's a real good lesson that we learned tonight that if you don't want to respect the game plan for 60 minutes, those things are going to happen."
But if last year's playoff elimination didn't hammer home those lessons, is there any reason to hope the message will get through now?
Yes, the Rangers had more at stake in this one. They were also coming off an emotionally and physically draining shootout victory over the Flyers on Sunday, and were ripe for the picking. The Bruins took advantage early, dominating the first period with a 19-5 advantage in shots and taking a 2-0 lead into the first intermission on goals by Daniel Paille and Nathan Horton.
Chris Kelly made it 3-0 with his first goal as a Bruin midway through the second period, but the wheels came off soon after. Vinny Prospal got the Rangers on the board 1:02 after Kelly's goal, then added a second score later in the period.
"Even if they had desperation, we still were the better team for the first half of the game," Julien said. "The only reason they took over is because we let them. We stopped doing the things that we were doing so well. Some guys would prefer being cute to being efficient, and when you get that way you start taking penalties and getting out of position and you end up getting yourself in trouble."
The Bruins still appeared they might be able to weather the storm in the third, but Brandon Dunbinsky, Michael Sauer and Derek Stepan each scored in the final 3:48 of the game for another epic collapse.
"I think there were a lot of breakdowns there in the third," Julien said. "Our back end, our D's got caught out of position a lot and I'm sure there's a couple of goals there Timmy [Tim Thomas] would want back. The breakdowns were everywhere, but our back end had a tough night. Our front end, while we were OK for the first 30 minutes, but then again, instead of playing the type of game we're supposed to play for 60 minutes we stopped playing. We decided to get cute and when you get cute that's what happens. So for me, it's a disappointing loss, but you hope your players walk out of here learning something from this."
The Bruins better learn something, and quick. They have just three games left before the playoffs, and all are against teams that have been eliminated from postseason contention. Boston has to find a way to put together a complete effort and prove that it has the ability to put away an opponent when they have it on the ropes. Otherwise, the Bruins could be facing another painful end to their spring in the coming weeks.
