The first 20 minutes and last 40 minutes of the Boston Bruins' 5-2 loss to the New York Rangers told different stories, but the implications for the rest of the season go beyond the surface.
BOSTON – Through 20 minutes against the New York Rangers, the Boston Bruins looked to be in good shape. They led 1-0, and easily could have built a bigger lead were it not for the heroics of Rangers goaltender Jonathan Quick.
Boston had a 14-9 shot advantage, a 55 Corsi For Percentage at 5-on-5 and a strong showing from their second power play unit, which provided the goal even though it came a few seconds after the penalty time expired.
Then, the switch flipped. Artemi Panarin scored three goals, and the New York Rangers stormed back to win 5-2.
“They played a simple game,” said Jake DeBrusk, who scored Boston’s first goal. “It seemed like they always had numbers back, and that made it hard for us to kind of come through it if we wanted to skate. And then, we just didn’t make the right decisions at times.”
Indeed, the Rangers pulled away with a dominant second period. At 5-on-5, New York produced 18 scoring chances to Boston’s three, including a 7-0 advantage in high-danger scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick. The Rangers generated a 76.32 Corsi For Percentage in the period.
Even with those staggering differences, both of Panarin’s goals in the second period were a direct result of a Bruins’ miscue.
Panarin tied it 1-1 at 7:58 of the second, touching Brandon Schneider’s cross-ice pass to the slot to break past Charlie McAvoy and Danton Heinen. Heinen swiped at the puck, but inadvertently hit it right to Panarin, who cut back and beat Swayman five-hole.
Panarin scored again with just 35 seconds left in the period to really drive momentum into the third. Hampus Lindholm turned the puck over from behind the net, and Panarin banked his pass attempt off a sliding DeBrusk and into the net.
“[The Rangers] checked really well. I don’t think we checked well enough,” Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. “I don’t think we competed hard enough on pucks.”
The Lindholm turnover was bad, but it’s also hard to blame Heinen or DeBrusk for what happened on the two plays. The Rangers dominated the period, but took advantage when handed the right opportunities.
The Bruins got back into it when Justin Brazeau tied it 3:17 into the third with a netfront tap-in. The 26-year-old rookie has four points in his past two games as he continues to solidify his role on both the fourth line and second power play unit.
However, any momentum gain was quickly flushed away when Adam Fox regained the lead for New York with a top shelf snipe from the right circle.
“We can just be a little smarter there in keeping the momentum our way,” Lindholm said. “And making them [have] to chase a little bit more. I think that’s what we can learn from this game.”
The Rangers potted two empty-net goals in the final 2:03 after Boston failed to respond in the third, and they clinched the season sweep with wins in all three matchups this season.
The script didn’t follow that of a typical Bruins collapse, in which they squander a third-period lead, but it was still a concerning showing against a fellow Eastern Conference contender they very well could see deep into the postseason, should they get that far.
Call it a measuring stick game or a reality check, but with just 11 games left in the regular season, the Bruins are running out of runway to reach peak form before the playoffs.
“You don’t want to lose, but you want to trust the process, and that’s what happened tonight,” Swayman said. “I think, again, a lot of opportunities to learn from our mistakes and move forward as a team.”