Took all the way to game 46 for the Rangers and Bruins to finally collide, but what a game it was.  The Rangers bested the defending champs 3-2 in overtime on a goal by Marian Gaborik with 3.6 seconds remaining.  To the bullets…

  • This one now makes 15 of the past 18 games these teams have played each other that has been decided by one goal.
  • This game was an incredibly physical one, as expected.  It seemed like Boyle was a Lucic-seeking missile every time he was on the ice, and pretty much everyone had that extra edge this afternoon.
  • Once the second period started, the offense began to come through.  4 of the 5 goals came in the second, and had McQuaid’s shot not deflected off of Brian Boyle’s stick, it could have easily been all the scoring.
  • Brandon Dubinsky was the one Ranger I felt really struggled in this one.  It seemed like he tried to do too much physically and got thrown off his game.  He missed his coverage on the Ference (more on him later) goal and seemed more or less lost in both ends of the ice.
  • I’m going to get all the critiques of the Rangers overall play out in this one bullet.  The power play looked god-awful again today.  If the last one was not a 4-on-3 for 5 minutes, it would have been another wasted opportunity.  I thought the Rangers turned the puck over far too many times at the top of the their defensive zone.  The Bruins point men did a nice job keeping clearing plays in, but too much through the middle and miscommunications on the breakout could have cost the Blueshirts a lot more than it did.  Lastly, they seemed a little soft in the slot area.  Boston does a great job of creating time and space in the offensive zone, but you have to clamp down.  But overall, they played a very solid game in both ends.
  • The heart and will that this team has blocking shots is really something isn’t it?
  • I fully believe that this game can be played perfectly.  It rarely happens, but you have to strive for it every single time you step on the ice.  I love that Torts has engrained that message in this team.
  • I thought Brad Richards played a much better game today.  He had an assist and 6 SOG.  Much more effective than he has been recently.
  • Marian Gaborik was obviously the star of the show today.  He had a tough assignment in Chara and managed to put 2 in the back of the net.  He stuck with the goal in overtime, putting the third rebound past Tuuka Rask for the game winner.
  • Good call on the musical chair line combos Suit…
  • Hank played his usual Vezina caliber game for the Rangers with 32 saves.  He is making all of the saves he needs to and a ton he has no business making.  He very much embodies the success of this team.  I thought Tuuka Rask played an exceptional game as well.  I believe that he is the better goalie in the Boston tandem and kept the Rangers from putting some distance between the teams in the middle of the second.
  • There was so much in this game that was worth discussing, but for the sake of keeping the length of the recap reasonable, I’ll close with this.  Ference’s hit on McDonagh was absolutely gutless.  I hope Shanny takes a good long look at this play.  Exactly the type of hit that needs to be removed from the game.

The Rangers need to keep up the intensity from this tilt and prevent a let down game when they return home to host Winnipeg on Tuesday at 7pm.

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