The Bruins had every reason — and opportunity — to put in a good showing against the New York Rangers on Thursday at the Garden.
It was an anticipated head-to-head matchup between Eastern Conference division leaders and the B’s were hoping to avoid the three-game season sweep at the hands of the Rangers. On top of that, the Rangers were missing two of their best defenders in Jacob Trouba and Ryan Lindgren.
But the Rangers rose to the occasion and the B’s did not. After a decent first period by the B’s, the Rangers took over the game in the second period and were clearly the better team in their 5-2 victory.
The Blueshirts got a pair of excuse-me Artemi Panarin goals in the second period and then immediately answered the B’s tying goal early in the third with what turned out to be the game-winner from Adam Fox to complete the three-game season sweep.
That was not the way the Bruins wanted to head out in a six-game road trip.
Despite the missing Ranger defensemen, the B’s were not able to fight through the New York defensive layers to establish much in the way of prime scoring chances after the first period.
“They checked really well. I don’t think we checked well enough. I don’t think we competed hard enough on pucks,” said coach Jim Montgomery, his paucity of words a clear indication of his disappointment.
The B’s had 14 shots on net in the first period and just 12 in the last two periods combined.
“We knew it was a big game. They’ve had our number. We haven’t beaten these guys. I don’t think emotions were a question coming in,” said Jake DeBrusk. “I think it was just a matter of answering the push, which we didn’t do. There were some fluky plays, two empty-netters. But overall in the game, I thought they really controlled us below our own goal line and I thought they were controlling us on the offensive side as well. It was one of those things where it felt like we were defending a lot.”
The B’s best players were not that on Thursday. Brad Marchand (one goal in 14 games) was charged with four giveaways and, though the B’s were 0-for-3 on the power-play (the second unit did score seconds after a PP), their first unit is stuck in the mud right now.
“It’s not just tonight. Our second power play unit has scored maybe eight of our last 10 power-play goals. We’ll look at the film and we’ll get better,” said Montgomery.
Jeremy Swayman, meanwhile, lost his second game in three outings, allowing a dozen goals in that time. He was victimized on a couple of bad bounces and couldn’t come up with the save on Fox’s answer goal — admittedly a bar-down laser — that stood up for the GWG. Swayman was asked where he could grow his game.
“Everywhere, baby. Everywhere,” said a smiling Swayman, maintaining his usual positive outlook. “I think there’s a lot of opportunity for that and I’m excited to get better.”
The game held some promise for the B’s at the start. They were all over the Rangers on their first PP but did not score until Fox had just stepped out of the box. The B’s peppered Jonathan Quick, who made a pair of 10-bell saves from low in the slot on Trent Frederic. But after the second and more spectacular stop on Frederic, Quick was never able to regain his equilibrium while DeBrusk pounced on the loose puck in the slot and beat the Ranger netminder just inside the post at 8:04. It was DeBrusk’s 18th of the year.
That was the only goal of the period, but both teams had Grade A chances after that. First, Erik Gustafsson set up Vincent Trocheck for a redirect from the slot. Trocheck had a good chunk of the net behind Swayman, but he tipped it wide. Hampus Lindholm was also in the right place at the right time to keep Will Cuylle from scoring into an empty net.
Then the snake-bitten Marchand had a glittering chance from the slot but Quick somehow got his pad on it.
Neither team had much of an advantage early in a back-and forth-second period but the Blueshirts managed to tie it at 7:58 off a broken play. Braden Schneider tried to set up Panarin in the slot and it appeared that the B’s had broken it up. But Danton Heinen deflected the puck right back to Panarin, whose shot from the right circle leaked through Swayman, who was screened a bit by Pavel Zacha.
“It was a broken play and then it went through a couple of skates,” said Swayman. “It’s one that I can work on, seeing through traffic and, again, another opportunity that I can work to make a save and we can move on and finish off the period.”
From there, the Rangers controlled the play at both ends of the ice, giving up very little by way scoring chances — including on a late Bruin power play — and then took the lead with 35 seconds left in the period on a gift. Alex Wennberg forced a Lindholm turnover behind the net and it went to Panarin. The sharpshooter tried to send it right back to Wennberg on the other side of the net but DeBrusk dove to break it up. Unfortunately, the puck went off DeBrusk and dribbled through Swayman’s pads.
The B’s nearly went down by a deuce but Panarin hit the crossbar before the horn mercifully sounded with the deficit a manageable single goal.
And the B’s evened it at 3:17. Jesper Boqvist took the puck out from behind the net and handed it off to Marchand, whose shot broke through Quick and sat in the crease. In a pileup at the net, Justin Brazeau knocked it home for his third goal in two games.
The good vibes lasted all of 40 seconds. That’s when Fox was allowed to take the puck down into the right circle and roof it over Swayman’s shoulder. Mika Zibanejad salted it away with an empty-netter with 2:03 left and then Panarin got the vulture hat trick with another empty netter.
The final score may not have been quite indicative of the game overall. But then again, no one could argue that right team didn’t win it.
