It was the identical story, with the identical result, for the Rangers.
Regardless of what number of grade-A likelihood is generated or what number of pucks are perfectly deflected, it’s the finish that wins games — and the Rangers didn’t have enough of that Thursday night on the Garden against the NHL-leading Bruins. It resulted in a 3-1 loss, which probably stung more in a game during which they were trying to size themselves up against the league’s best.
The measuring stick looked awfully daunting with a glaring zero on the jumbotron next to their logo for 55:37 of the 60-minute contest, however the Rangers didn’t exactly get swept off the ice despite what the rating indicated. Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman needed to work for his eleventh win of the season with 31 occasionally difficult saves.
It wasn’t difficult enough, evidently. Defenseman Ben Harpur could have ended Swayman’s shutout bid along with his first goal as a Ranger off a wrister from the highest of the left faceoff circle at 15:37 of the third period, however the Blueshirts weren’t difficult enough to defend.
The Bruins, who were playing on the back end of a back-to-back, are an unstoppable force, with one goal and one goal only: To dismantle their opponents. They strip teams of every part they think makes them good and smother them in the method. The Rangers struggled to create space for themselves, and looked discombobulated at times because of Boston’s forecheck and relentless pursuit of the puck.
That’s to not say that the Rangers didn’t have their looks. In truth, they outshot the Bruins 32-27 and generated ample opportunities in each period. The puck just didn’t need to go in, as a number of Rangers have said before this season.
Artemi Panarin, particularly, put the puck on net every way he could. Ending with a team-high nine attempts and 6 scoring probabilities in 15:18 of ice time, Panarin just couldn’t rating. Such has been the case for the Rangers as a team on several occasions this season: Many grade-A probabilities with no results.
Lower than five minutes into the second period, Patrice Bergeron made it a 2-0 game on a wrister from the highest of the circles.
Pavel Zacha struck first for the visitors, tipping in a degree shot from David Krejci 1:19 into the sport to set the tone. The Rangers could have been on their heels to begin, but they were forced to buckle down once they found themselves down two players for 1:42 toward the tip of the opening period.
Not only did the Rangers emerge unscathed, but they generated some much-needed momentum. No shots went in, and the Blueshirts finished the period strong with some quality scoring probabilities, including a redirection of an Artemi Panarin feed from Chris Kreider that Swayman denied on the buzzer.
It was the identical story, with the identical result, for the Rangers.
Regardless of what number of grade-A likelihood is generated or what number of pucks are perfectly deflected, it’s the finish that wins games — and the Rangers didn’t have enough of that Thursday night on the Garden against the NHL-leading Bruins. It resulted in a 3-1 loss, which probably stung more in a game during which they were trying to size themselves up against the league’s best.
The measuring stick looked awfully daunting with a glaring zero on the jumbotron next to their logo for 55:37 of the 60-minute contest, however the Rangers didn’t exactly get swept off the ice despite what the rating indicated. Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman needed to work for his eleventh win of the season with 31 occasionally difficult saves.
It wasn’t difficult enough, evidently. Defenseman Ben Harpur could have ended Swayman’s shutout bid along with his first goal as a Ranger off a wrister from the highest of the left faceoff circle at 15:37 of the third period, however the Blueshirts weren’t difficult enough to defend.
The Bruins, who were playing on the back end of a back-to-back, are an unstoppable force, with one goal and one goal only: To dismantle their opponents. They strip teams of every part they think makes them good and smother them in the method. The Rangers struggled to create space for themselves, and looked discombobulated at times because of Boston’s forecheck and relentless pursuit of the puck.
That’s to not say that the Rangers didn’t have their looks. In truth, they outshot the Bruins 32-27 and generated ample opportunities in each period. The puck just didn’t need to go in, as a number of Rangers have said before this season.
Artemi Panarin, particularly, put the puck on net every way he could. Ending with a team-high nine attempts and 6 scoring probabilities in 15:18 of ice time, Panarin just couldn’t rating. Such has been the case for the Rangers as a team on several occasions this season: Many grade-A probabilities with no results.
Lower than five minutes into the second period, Patrice Bergeron made it a 2-0 game on a wrister from the highest of the circles.
Pavel Zacha struck first for the visitors, tipping in a degree shot from David Krejci 1:19 into the sport to set the tone. The Rangers could have been on their heels to begin, but they were forced to buckle down once they found themselves down two players for 1:42 toward the tip of the opening period.
Not only did the Rangers emerge unscathed, but they generated some much-needed momentum. No shots went in, and the Blueshirts finished the period strong with some quality scoring probabilities, including a redirection of an Artemi Panarin feed from Chris Kreider that Swayman denied on the buzzer.
