BOSTON — The Bruins and New York Rangers play two more times this season. We recommend you circle those dates on your calendar.
The first meeting of the season between the B’s and Blueshirts had it all: plentiful scoring, occasionally excellent goaltending, a late-game comeback and plenty of controversy — oh, so much controversy.
How much? Well, the news conferences following Friday’s 4-3 Bruins win featured one coach calling out a superstar goaltender for embellishing by referencing his acting career and the other comparing a check to Aaron Rome’s infamous hit on Nathan Horton in the 2011 Stanley Cup Final.
And the game itself was one of the most exciting the Bruins have played this season.
“There are a lot of emotions in games like that, and the crowd was great, they were into it,” said winger Brad Marchand, whose controversial goalie interference call midway through the third period led to a goal for New York.
“And those are the kind of games you want to be a part of. I think we all enjoy — well, obviously all love this game — but those are the games that you want to be out there for.”
Let’s dive into some notes from Boston’s fifth straight win:
— Brett Connolly scored on the power play to snap a streak of 11 consecutive games without a goal. The tally also ended another slump: Jimmy Hayes, who was credited the secondary assist, hadn’t scored a point in nine games.
— Friday marked Hayes’ first NHL victory over his younger brother, New York Rangers winger Kevin Hayes, who’d won their first four meetings. It also was the brothers’ first time squaring off in their home city of Boston. The elder Hayes said close to 50 friends and family members turned out for the occasion.
“I know they had a lot of sweatshirts and T-shirts made that were split down the middle (between Bruins and Rangers),” he said. “So, I think they had both colors on (Friday).”
— Hayes’ recent slump prompted coach Claude Julien to drop him down to the fourth line and elevate rookie Frank Vatrano to the first. Vatrano did not factor into the scoring but more than held his own alongside veteran linemates Patrice Bergeron and Marchand.
“I think for the first time playing together, I think we played really well,” said Vatrano, a natural left wing who played on the right side against the Rangers. “They make the game a lot easier on me, so it’s fun to play with (them).”
— Vatrano made headlines Wednesday night not only for his game-winning goal in overtime, but also for the wild post-goal celebration in which he came close to accidentally punching an official in the face.
“To be honest, I didn’t even notice that until people kept sending me the videos after the game,” Vatrano said before Friday’s game. “But to see that, that was pretty funny.”
The East Longmeadow, Mass., native said he received a flurry of congratulatory texts after his goal — which gave the Bruins a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings — just as he did following his initial call-up to his hometown team.
“It was nice seeing the support from everyone back home, especially around (Boston),” Vatrano said. “It shows how (much) fan support we have here in this area, so it’s awesome.”
— Bruins defenseman Kevan Miller practiced with the team Thursday for the first time since suffering an upper body injury during last Tuesday’s loss to the San Jose Sharks.
Miller, who has missed Boston’s last five games and was placed on injured reserve Sunday, also revealed that his injury was, in fact, a concussion.
“(I just need) a couple practices under my belt to get that conditioning back,” the 28-year-old said Thursday, via the Boston Globe. “I was out of it for a few days, so I didn’t do a whole lot for three to four days.”
— Friday was a busy day at the Garden, with both the Bruins and Boston Celtics sharing a home date for the first time this season. The Celtics hosted the Washington Wizards at 7:30 p.m. ET, giving the Garden bull gang less than four hours to transform the arena from hockey rink to basketball court.
Thumbnail photo via Winslow Townson/USA TODAY Sports Images
