The Rangers hot streak comes to an end as Boston's reinforcements brought an unmatched energy. Having already clinched home ice advantage in the post season and recently losing two more players to (minor) injuries, there wasn't much that made this a game that needed to be played with high intensity on the Rangers end. There were some positives to take away from it, the biggest one being that no one got hurt or appeared to overwork themselves but aside from that, Linus Ullmark had a superb game in net for the Rangers which certainly played a role in keeping the Rangers out of this contest.
New York got off to a great start in this one as the first period was probably their best aside from the two penalties they took. Nevertheless, they killed them both of them off, one a little more smoothly then the other. On the flip side, the Rangers got a power play chance of their own but couldn't get all that much generated, nor was Linus Ullmark budging on anything. The Rangers would outshoot the Bruins in the first 12-10 but Boston would get the advantage when David Pastrnak tucked one away back door in his first game back from an oblique injury.
The game would slowly get away from the Rangers when just 67 seconds into the second, Taylor Hall found himself on a breakaway, putting one passed Igor Shesterkin. Tough break for the Blueshirts who weren't doing themselves any favors in the puck luck department. About halfway through the period tensions reached their peak when Charlie McAvoy delivered a harsh check from behind to his childhood bestie Adam Fox. Both Ryan Strome and Dryden Hunt immediately went after McAvoy, Hunt dropping the gloves to do so which thankfully only resulted in coincidental minors. Less than a minute into that however, Jacob Trouba got called for tripping giving Boston a short 4-on-3.
The Rangers took care of business shorthanded but the Bruins would blow them away in shots, 18-10 in the second. To the third we go and the Rangers power play would get back to work as a result of a delay of game call from Ullmark shooting the puck into the crowd. Amidst a change in power play personal, Alexis Lafreniere completely undressed Bruins defender Brandon Carlo, causing him to lose his stick on the play. Carlo made the mistake of going to grab his stick which left Mika Zibanejad wide open on the back door which brought the Rangers within one. Not only did Carlo's mistake lead to a goal, he took a hooking penalty on the play, giving the Rangers another full man advantage.
The score remained 2-1 through the Carlo penalty as the teams returned to even strength. For a minute, the Rangers showed some life but Ullmark stood tall in net, continuing to flash the glove and find ways to shut down the Rangers offense. Around the halfway mark of the third, Trent Frederic got just enough on it for the puck to barely squeak through Shesterkin, making it a 3-1 game. Gerard Gallant pulled Shesterkin with ample time remaining in regulation but the Rangers couldn't get anything going. They kept the puck out of the empty net but couldn't put it in Boston's, resulting in a loss for their final road trip of the regular season.
As a Rangers fan, you can't really be too upset or surprised by this one. The team was shorthanded, they've won 10 of their last 13 games prior to this one, which included a three game shutout streak. There really isn't much to be concerned about in this final stretch. With the loss to Boston and a win from Carolina the Rangers are now two points behind the Canes for first in the Metro. Both teams are back at it on Tuesday where they'll face each other at the Garden for the last time this regular season in a game that could very well be the deciding factor of who gets first in the division.
The game with Carolina will be the first of the seasons final back to back as the Rangers enter the final week of the regular season with three games remaining. You have to think the hope for the Rangers is that Andrew Copp and Filip Chytil will be good to go against Carolina and Kaapo Kakko will be back as well at some point this week. Frankly, if there's any doubt, Gallant shouldn't feel as though there is any reason to rush them back, just make sure everyone is good to go for playoffs. Regardless, expect one more big effort with Carolina on Tuesday and then expect to see more rest days being handed out to the Rangers core players.
Chris Feldman
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