This is not the stinker the Edmonton Oilers played at home upon their return from a 3-out-4-point finish to their road trip last week in Florida. If there is any too-much-turkey in the Bruins today after falling behind 2-0 to the Rangers in the first period of the annual Black Friday matinee, then it’s a needle in the haystack of a team suddenly decimated by injury.
David Pastrnak and Pavel Zacha joined the ranks of the missing, so it’s a tall ask of the returning Casey Mittelstadt, back in his left-wing spot, albeit on a makeshift line centered by Marat Khusnutdinov with P-Bruins recall Georgii Merkulov on his off wing.
Coach Marco Sturm said Pastrnak is day-to-day, and there is suspicion in the media ranks that illness is playing a role in both his and Zacha’s cases.
Given the Rangers’ road record (10-4-1 coming in), the game is practically a scheduled loss.
Artemi Panarin factored in both goals that put New York ahead 2-0 at first intermission. Rink Rap was here but late getting to the game blog, so we pick it up in the second period.
OK, the Rangers killed the penalty and had a scoring chance short-handed. In the first period, the Bruins gave up an early scoring chance that starter Joonas Korpisalo turned away, only to be scored upon before the shift ended. Korpisalo, it was noted today on X by WEEI’s Scott McLaughlin, has given up a goal on his second shot of the game in seven of his 10 starts this season. The Sports Hub’s Ty Anderson noted upon Panarin’s first goal that the Bruins, as a team, have allowed a goal on their opponents’ first three shots in 13 games so far this season. These are weighty numbers, but in noting the Rangers easily could have scored on their first (not second) shot this afternoon, it’s far more of a teamwide issue as far as Rink Rap is concern. I am not interpreting their contributions as blame on the goalie(s) – they can speak for themselves – but the Bruins, as a team, it says here, have been brutal defensively out of the gate more often than not this season. There is a lot that goes into that, putting their goaltending in position to stop high-danger scoring chances before ever scraping up their crease, and it happens way too often to consider it a goaltending issue, especially when elite goaltending has been a significant piece of most of their 10 wins this season. So, again, I’m not suggesting anyone is blaming anybody for this trend, and good on my colleagues for pointing out these trends. If you find yourself in the car and hear Ryan Johnston raising his voice and yelling out save Swayman or Korpisalo only a shift or three into the game, then you’ve probably also heard yourself say, “already?”
Alex Steeves, whose stock continues to rise during this window of NHL opportunity that might not have come his way had the Bruins’ second line stayed healthy, was turned away by Igor Shesterkin early in the second period.
Again with nothing between him and Shesterkin, Steeves was roundly booed for passing off to Morgan Geekie, who couldn’t find the puck in his skates.
Goaltending at both ends of the rink has kept the score of the game down in the second period.
Khustnudinov is off for high-sticking at 12:21 of the second period.
The game gets away from the Bruins late in the second period when the Rangers cash in on a pair of high-sticking penalties with a pair of powerplay goals, both by Mika Zibanejad, to make it 4-0.
It could have been worse.
Khustnutdinov’s penalty had six seconds remaining when Hampus Lindholm took a double-minor for high-sticking at 14:15 of the second period. Zibanejad’s first PPG was considered to have occurred one second after Khusnutdinov’s exit from the penalty box, but the scoreboard suggested it was actually six seconds, the same point in time as the expiration of Khusnutdinov’s penalty. As it turned out, the goal also wiped out the first of Lindholm’s two minors for high-sticking, so the Bruins only had two minutes to kill rather than four. Zibanejad’s second PPG drained any consolation out of that situation, as the Boston penalty kill took some game-impacting lumps for the first time in a long time.
This is unofficially becoming a stinker – and the Bruins will not make excuses after going 2-2-0 on the rugged trip.
The boos rain down from the balcony, especially fans at their first game of the season, a common occurrence for Black Friday – victims of circumstance.
Second period comes to a merciful end; shots are 27-12 Rangers, who are looking to push their league-leading road-victory total to 11.
Mittelstadt centers to Elias Lindholm for two attempts that Shesterkin denies, but Mittelstadt finesses home a third try to get the Bruins on the board and reward the fans chanting “let’s go, Bruins!” in the balcony.
Hampus Lindholm with a little Torey Krug off the point, but can’t convert from the slot.
With the little they’ve got today, the Bruins are trying to push their way back into this game.
Khustnudinov off-wing chance, no go. The Bruins are getting chances. We’ll see if the Rangers stiffen their defensive commitment. Mike Sullivan uses his timeout with 14:16 left and a 4-1 lead over his first NHL team as a head coach.
Elias Lindholm wins the draw back to Henri Jokiharju, whose shot finds Morgan Geekie’s stick to change direction just enough to find the top corner stick side to make it a two-goal game 5:49 into the third period, just five seconds after Sullivan’s timeout.
The goal, Geekie’s 18th of the season – let’s not do an 82-game projection and turn his season into cup half empty – has injected energy into the Bruins. Sullivan’s timeout does have his team recovering form. It’s just a better game all around at this point with two on the board for the Bruins, not only because it calls the outcome a wee bit into question but because of the energy and intensity in every shift from here on down through the final seven minutes.
TV timeout with 5:18 remaining in regulation.
To the Bruins’ credit, they don’t have their horses, they were down four goals to the best road team in the Eastern Conference and have not quit. Instead, they’ve snuck up on the Rangers, popped in a pair of goals and the paying customers who aimed at this date since the day single-game tickets went on sale, are getting memorable bang for their buck (albeit with the preseason lineup).
Jokiharju just went to the bench, gliding on one knee almost touching the ice like he was stretching a quadricep. He continued contorting on the bench. Right shots are hard to come by, this is his best game in some time.
Korpisalo out of the net, and the Rangers score with 3:24 remaining.
Thousands pour toward the exits, as if traffic will be any better or as if there won’t be a long line outside Pizzeria Regina.
NYR gets the other one back and it’s 6-2 with 2:58 left. Korpisalo was back in net for this one. Game over. More fans pouring out, no one yelling “woo!”
We will also sign off here with the intentions of seeing you back at TD Garden tomorrow afternoon when the Bruins host the Detroit Red Wings at 3 pm.
Until then, drive safely.
Rink Rap with Mick Colageo 