Rangers top Bruins in high-octane Eastern Conference heavyweight battle

August 12, 2024

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The Rangers did not view this battle with the Bruins as a statement victory.

That is because the Rangers’ entire body of work thus far has been an assertion in itself, one that was only reaffirmed by this 7-4 win over a heavyweight Boston team Saturday afternoon at Madison Square Garden, which lifted the club into first place in the NHL by points percentage.

Forget the Big Bad Bruins.

These are the Big Bad Blueshirts.

Perched on an 11-point lead in the Metropolitan Division, which is a larger differential than between the second-place Capitals and the last-place Blue Jackets, the Rangers have put the NHL on notice.

“I think our guys are going into games expecting to win,” head coach Peter Laviolette said after his team improved to a stunning 15-3-1 record on the season. “Expecting to play a certain way. If we do that, we can see the results.”

For all the arguments that can and have been made about the difficulty — or lack thereof — of the Rangers’ schedule 18 games into the season, there is no disputing what unfolded in Game No. 19 against a defensively sound Boston team.

Hanging a season-high seven goals on Boston goalie Linus Ullmark, whose .932 save percentage entering Saturday’s game was only rivaled by the man on the other side of the ice, Jonathan Quick, the Rangers proved just how for real they are this season.

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If this was a measuring-stick victory, it’s the Rangers who will be doing the measuring from now on.

“I still don’t think we’ve played our best hockey yet, which is kind of scary and fun to say,” said K’Andre Miller, whose missile of a one-timer with 23.7 seconds left in the second period gave the Rangers a crucial two-goal lead heading into the final frame. “I think figuring out what we have done to get all this success and keep it is the biggest thing.”

Thirteen different Rangers recorded a point in this game between two teams that were competing in the second of back-to-back matinees.

In goal, Quick is still undefeated in regulation after he posted 27 saves to improve to 6-0-1 on the season.

And Chris Kreider and his game-high three-point performance was just as important as the two goals the Rangers received from their fourth line of Jimmy Vesey, Barclay Goodrow and Tyler Pitlick.

“Lavi said he had a lot of faith in us and he told us before the game we were going to go a lot against their first line,” said Jimmy Vesey, who gave the Rangers a 4-3 lead with the extra attacker on during a delayed penalty call in the middle frame. “I think we were up for the challenge.”

The first period was an early indication of how eventful this matchup was going to be, after five total goals were scored and both teams used their lone timeout in an attempt to slow down the other in the opening 20 minutes.

In addition to Nick Bonino’s first goal as a Ranger, Kreider scored on the power play and while the Rangers were shorthanded to take a 3-2 lead into the first intermission.

The Bruins played to their pesky ways and never quite let the Rangers get comfortable, no matter the score. David Pastrnak went five-hole on Quick at the very end of Boston’s power play to tie the game up a second time just 26 seconds into the second period.

Vesey’s goal and Tyler Pitlick’s first tally as a Ranger, however, sandwiched Miller’s score at the tail end of the second period to give the Rangers a formidable 6-3 lead less than a minute and a half into the final frame.

While Charlie Coyle netted his second of the game less than a minute after Pitlick scored, Artemi Panarin snapped a three-game scoreless streak — which is a long time considering how this season has gone for the Russian wing — to put the Rangers back up by three.

“I think that’s kind of the expectation of just how we play,” Rangers captain Jacob Trouba said. “We scored a lot of goals today. It’s just, ‘Hey, come to the rink and do your job.’ There isn’t much else that goes into it of this is a statement or not.

“It’s just we come to the rink and we play the game that we’re supposed to play.”

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