Rangers Outlast Bruins 4-3: Begin to Pull Away

In one of the most hard-fought, hard-hitting games of the season, The Rangers proved once again why they are on top of the NHL’s Eastern Conference.

Sunday’s matinee between the top two teams in the East lived up to the hype, as the Rangers beat the Bruins on a late third period goal by Derek Stepan.  The blueshirts got off to one of their fastest starts of the season, scoring two goals in the first six minutes.  After that, it was a Boston controlled game as the Bruins were consistent on the forcheck in the Rangers zone. 

Rangers celebrate game winning goal vs Bruins

The Bruins capitalized on two uncommon defensive lapses by the Rangers.  First was a Benoit Pouliot goal in the first period off of an Anton Stralman turnover.  Early in the second, a rare mistake by Rangers defensive iron man Dan Girardi, led to a slapshot goal by Jordan Caron. It was a dogfight for the rest of the second period, and the Rangers were fortunate to come out unscathed.

A few heavyweight bouts also made their way onto the Garden ice Sunday, as there were three separate fights within the first two periods.  Mike Rupp, Brandon Prust, and Stu Bickel each received fighting majors for the blueshirts, with Rupp and Bickel respectively getting the nods in their tilt.  Prust on the other hand took on Bruins notorious winger Milan Lucic, which didn’t go so well for Prust, and probably swung momentum in the favor of Boston. 

An early third period goal by Rangers leading scorer Marian Gaborik put the blueshirts up one.  Half way through the period, the Bruins high-powered top line tied the game at three, on a goal by David Krejci.  The resilient Rangers dug deep, and answered back a minute later.  On a beautiful feed from defensemen Michael Del Zotto, Derek Stepan ripped a shot past Bruins goalie Tim Thomas for the game-winning goal.

As always, Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist was great in net for the blueshirts, with thirty saves on the day.  He is continuing to build his case for a unanimous vote for the Vezina trophy as the NHL’s best goaltender.  The Rangers were also without their captain Ryan Callahan, who missed his third straight game with a bone bruise in his foot.  Callahan, who is the core and identity of this team, was definitely missed, but the outlook is optimistic as he skated over the weekend. 

Rangers Forward Derek Stepan

The Rangers are now 42-15-7 with 91 points on the season.  They are first overall in the NHL, and 10 points ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Atlantic Division.  They are also 12 points up on the Bruins now in the conference, with 18 games remaining.  Last season, the Rangers did not reach 91 points until the 80^th game of the season.  They can clinch a playoff birth with 12 more points, and the conference with 27 more.  The Blueshirts also need 11 more wins to set a franchise record for most wins in a season, and 22 more points for the franchise record for points in a season. 

The next game is Tuesday night in Newark vs. the New Jersey Devils.