Late game heroics propelled the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory against the New York Rangers Friday. Forward Ryan Spooner scored the tying goal late in the third period and David Krejci scored minutes later to seal the deal for the Bruins.
Bruins starting goalie stopped 24 of 27 shots and ended the game with a .889% save percentage. Forwards Patrice Bergeron and rookie Brett Connolly scored the other goals for the Bruins.
From Bad to Worse for the New York Rangers
This was a fantastic hockey game for any neutral hockey fans. There were lots of bone-crushing hits, seven goals and continuous end to end action. Neither of these played it safe at all. And in the end, the home team Boston Bruins got the win.
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Despite stopping 30 shots Rangers starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist has now lost back to back games. He also got hit cheaply twice by Bruin’s forward Brad Marchand. Worst still, the Rangers lost their star forward Derek Stepan to injury in the second period. Boston’s Matt Beleskey unleashed a nasty, late hit which sent Stepan crashing into the boards.
After the game, head coach Alain Vigneault explained that Stepan suffered broken ribs and is out indefinitely. The injury to Stepan caused a massive shift in the momentum of the game for the Bruins.
This injury is a massive blow for the New York Rangers. Stepan has been a crucial part of the Rangers success so far this season. Stepan has six goals and six assists through 23 games so far and has been a safe bet in the faceoff circle for the Rangers as well. Now Vigneault is going to have to juggle his offensive lines and find a way to make up for his absence moving forward.
Positives for New York Rangers
Despite losing a close game, there were still some positives for the Rangers to take away from this game. Henrik Lundqvist continues to give his team a chance to win games. This guy has been absolutely unbelievable. He’s got a record of 12-5-2.
He’s faced 611 shots throughout those 19 games and still has managed to post a .936% save percentage. This guy will definitely be critical to the Ranger’s quest for another long playoff run this season. Forward Rick Nash scored again for the Rangers, giving him eight goals and eight assists on the season.
If he can keep consistently contributing, that’ll certainly help balance out the absence of Derek Stepan.Forward Oscar Lindberg continues to impress as well. He scored the tying goal in the second period and used his speed to crash the net and frustrate the Bruin’s defenders.
The Rangers next game will be at home against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon. I can’t wait to see if the home crowd will be able to rally their team to victory and avoid a three-game losing streak.