Playing on a back-to-back, the Boston Bruins and New York Rangers met in a matchup of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference at the TD Garden Saturday night (Dec. 16). Three weeks earlier, the Rangers beat the Bruins, 7-4, at Madison Square Garden and the rematch was a different game.
Boston was playing without their top center, top defenseman, and best penalty-killing defenseman for the third game in a row, Boston took a 1-0 lead into the third period and for the second time in four nights was not able to hold onto the lead. After allowing a third-period goal to the New Jersey Devils in a 2-1 overtime loss on Dec. 13, they had the same fate against the Rangers in a 2-1 loss at home. Here are three takeaways after the Black and Gold fell to 19-5-5 on the season.
Bruins Lose Pastrnak to Major Boarding Penalty
The Bruins are already down Derek Forbort, Pavel Zacha, and Charlie McAvoy to injuries, yet somehow managed to come away with three out of a possible four points in their last two against the New Jersey Devils and New York Islanders. Boston could not afford to lose another body, but that’s what happened late in the second period when David Pastrnak was hit with a five-minute major boarding penalty and a game misconduct for hitting former Bruins draft pick Ryan Lindgren behind the New York net.
Pastrnak, who scored the game-winning goal the night before against the Islanders in a shootout, hit Lindgren into the boards and was kicked out of the game, and rightfully so. Now with Forbort, Zacha, and McAvoy on Injured Reserved, the Black and Gold have to worry about potential disciplinary action against their leading scorer. That would make things that are tough now that much tougher against a difficult schedule before Christmas.
Bruins Gave Rangers Too Many Power Play Opportunities
It was an impressive special teams matchup between the Rangers’ power play, ranked second in the NHL entering the game, and the Bruins’ penalty kill, the top-ranked unit in the league entering the game. Boston took five minor penalties in the game, aside from Pastrnak’s major, and they successfully killed four of the minors, but in the end, they gave New York too many chances, and with all the talent they could roll out there, they paid the price.
Related: 3 Takeaways From Bruins’ 5-4 Shootout Win Over Islanders
Midway through the third period, Brandon Carlo was called for an interference penalty in front of the Boston net and it took the Rangers 13 seconds to convert on their fifth opportunity of the night. They cycled the puck around the net and found Vincent Trocheck alone and he buried a shot past Jeremy Swayman to tie the game 1-1. Boston’s best kill aside from the major was later in the third period when New York had nearly two full minutes of zone time, but couldn’t find the back of the net.
Vincent Trocheck Scores Both Goals for the Rangers
After he tied the game for the Rangers with the third-period power-play goal, Trocheck made sure that New York was going to leave Boston with their second win over the Black and Gold in three weeks. New York had a majority of the possession in overtime and the final shift was an impressive one to set up the game-winning goal.
The Rangers cycled the puck toward the Bruins’ defensive blueline three times before going back to center ice to regroup, and make a change, but kept the same three Boston skaters, Charlie Coyle, Matt Grzelcyk, and Danton Heinen, on the ice. As New York made zone entry, Trocheck snuck behind Grzelcyk and was able to redirect a pass by Swayman for the 2-1 win.
Bruins Quick Takeaways
- Why were the Bruins able to get a point against the Rangers? Well because of their goaltending of course. Swayman made 31 saves, several spectacular ones. He stopped Artemi Panarin on a breakaway in the first period, then made a point-blank save on Trocheck and he robbed Adam Fox with a glove save through a screen. Goaltending continues to be the strong point in 2023-24.
- Trent Frederic scored the Bruins’ goal early in the second period when he knocked home a loose puck in the crease past Igor Shesterkin. New York challenged it for goaltender interference but was unsuccessful. Boston failed to score on the ensuing power play, which felt like a missed opportunity in the game.
- The Bruins avoided another injury in the second period when Matthew Poitras took a hit along the boards and appeared to injure his shoulder. He straight off the ice to the locker room, but he returned later in the period. Right now, the Black and Gold can’t afford any more injuries.
Now the Bruins wait to see if there’s going to be any sort of discipline for Pastrnak for his hit. They have three tough games remaining before Christmas, home against the Minnesota Wild on Dec. 19, then road games at the Winnipeg Jets on Dec. 22, and the Wild on Dec. 23. Things are going to only get difficult for a shorthanded team over the next seven days.