Bruins Wrap: Boston Drops Another Matinee Game In Loss To Rangers

The Boston Bruins lost to the New York Rangers, 7-4, at Madison Square Garden on Saturday for their second loss in a back-to-back set.

The Bruins dropped to 14-3-3 on the season, and the Rangers improved to 15-3-1 on the season and ahead of Boston in first place in the Eastern Conference.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins came out sluggish for a second day in a row in a matinee matchup when they went down 2-0 in the first 10 minutes of the game. Head coach Jim Montgomery called a timeout, which proved to work as Boston evened up the score. However, the Bruins failed to close out periods by giving up goals with less than three minutes in the period in the first two-thirds of the matchup. New York closed out the Bruins in the third period after Boston gave up a season-high in goals, and Linus Ullmark also gave up a career-high in goals.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Massachusetts native Chris Kreider scored two out of the three goals for the Rangers in the first period. The 32-year-old added an assist on the decisive K’Andre Miller goal late in the second period.

— Artemi Panarin scored the seventh goal for New York that solidified his team’s win as the Bruins attempted to mount a late rally. It was the Rangers star’s 11th goal of the season, and the forward added an assist on a Jimmy Vesey second-period goal that put New York up 4-3.

— Charlie Coyle was one of the more consistent players for Boston on Saturday afternoon. The center helped set the tone when he scored the Bruins’ first goal of the matchup. He also remained vital on the penalty kill, and the 31-year-old tallied a second goal to put the Bruins within two goals in the third period before Panarin put the game away.

WAGER WATCH
Geekie had 9-1 odds to score a goal at FanDuel Sportsbook on Saturday. A $100 bet on the Boston forward would have yielded a $1,000 payout.

UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins travel to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets. Puck drop at Nationwide Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET and you can catch full coverage on NESN starting with pregame at 6 p.m.