The Rangers’ self-aggrandizement is starting to sound hollow.
The Rangers got on the wrong side of a black and blue matchup with the soaring Bruins, who expanded their points run to 10 games with a 1-0 win at the Garden on Friday night – just two days after Boston sent off the Blueshirts. to a loss of overtime.
Without the scoring ability of their top producer, Artemi Panarin, who was ruled out with a lower body injury he sustained on Wednesday, the Rangers lost a third game in a row and fell even further into the basement of the East standings.
It marked the third time the Rangers have been eliminated this season, and the second time in their past three games.
The Rangers continued to emphasize how close the games were, how many positive things there are to take away, and that they are just steps away from putting everything together.
But the fact is: the shortened 2020-21 season is almost a quarter over.
Bruins net lesser Tuukka Rask gave the blueshirts fits on Wednesday evening and former islander Jaroslav Halak did the same on Friday. Boston has only lost in regulations once this season, on January 18 against the Islanders, and is arguably one of the most versatile teams in the entire league.
However, the Rangers proved that they could skate alongside this physical Bruins squad when they forced overtime during their Wednesday night. The attacking persistence, smart decisions and balanced play just weren’t there this time.
Jacob Trouba took a careless holding penalty in less than two minutes in the third. A two-for-one rush with Kaapo Kakko and Alexis Lafreniere was easily cut short before either one could get a shot. And when the Rangers got a power play for a six-to-four man advantage in the last minute of the game, they lost the face-off and couldn’t get a single shot at the net.
After a scoreless first period, old hockey made its way into 2021. Both teams together delivered 13 penalties in the middle frame, with a total of 36 minutes served for fight or roughing.
The Rangers may have taken their punches, but they let the Bruins make jabs where it mattered: on the score sheet. Nick Ritchie broke the scoring drought at 9:13 AM after propping the puck past Shesterkin, while Boston outwitted the Rangers 13-10 in the second.
For the first 20 minutes, the Rangers limited the Bruins to all parts of the ice, while the new second-line look from Lafreniere, Kakko and Ryan Strome not only increased the pressure in the attack zone, but also dismantled Boston on the other side of the the ice. the ice.