BOSTON — Mika Zibanejad scored two goals, Henrik Lundqvist made 27 saves to take over sole possession of sixth place on the NHL’s career wins and the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 3-2 Saturday night.
Filip Chytil also scored for New York, and Lundqvist got his 446th win to break a tie with Terry Sawchuk and move eight behind Curtis Joseph for fifth. It was New York’s fourth win in five games, and its eighth in the last nine meetings against Boston.
Danton Heinen and Brad Marchand scored for the Bruins, who lost in regulation for just the second time in 10 games (7-2-1). Boston also lost starting goalie Tuukka Rask to a concussion late in the first period.
Rask was hurt in a hard collision with Chytil, who was sent flying into his head by Boston defenceman Charlie McAvoy after scoring a goal charging the net at full speed with 1 1/2 minutes left in the opening period.
The hit sent Rask onto his back, where he was down for a while before being helped to the bench and down the tunnel to the locker room. He entered tied with Cecil “Tiny” Thompson as the winningest goaltender in club history with 252 victories and was 6-0-1 in his previous seven starts. Rask had six saves and backup Jaroslav Halak finished with 11.
Zibanejad scored the go-ahead goal on a power play with wrist shot from the top of the left circle with 10:55 left in the third.
New York coach David Quinn, who led Boston University the last five seasons and played at the school, was back in TD Garden for the first time with the Rangers. Hanging above the ice was the Hockey East tourney championship banner the Terriers won last March.
Trailing 2-1, Boston tied it on Marchand’s goal when banged in a shot from the top of the crease off David Pastrnak’s feed 3:24 into the third.
With both teams facing nine days off with a bye week and the All-Star break, the first period was somewhat surprisingly lacklustre with limited hits, chances and rushes until Boston took a 1-0 edge on Heinen’s goal with 2 1/2 minutes remaining..
Chytil’s goal tied it a minute later and Zibanejad redirected Brady Skjei’s shot by Halak to give the Rangers the lead at 5:22 of the second.
NOTES: Rangers D Adam McQuaid got a video tribute and a standing ovation, waving to the crowd twice midway into the opening period. He played his first nine NHL seasons with Boston before being traded to New York in September. … New York F Kevin Hayes missed his ninth straight with an upper-body injury. … Boston D John Moore, a member of New York’s 2014 Stanley Cup finalist team, was a healthy scratch.
Special Relationship
Bruins D Matt Grzelcyk, who played three seasons for Quinn at BU, said after the morning skate that he developed a great relationship with him.
“He certainly means a lot to me,” he said. “He’s still a close friend. It’s obviously nice to have that connection. It’s going to be fun to see him tonight.
“He seems to really care for each and every player. He’s fully invested in their lives and helping them become better on and off the ice. A lot of players really appreciate that.”
McAvoy and Boston F Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson also played for Quinn at BU.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Off until they host Philadelphia on Jan. 29.
Bruins: Off until a home game against Winnipeg on Jan. 29.
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Ken Powtak, The Associated Press