Well, it was fun while it lasted. The Bruins –the better team throughout the series– sent the Rangers home today with a 3-1 win in Game Five. Torey Krug was an absolute killer in this series, and he scored the game tying goal in this game. That’s the season, so here’s the final goal breakdown of the year:

Rangers 1, Bruins 0

Lots of things done right on this shift.

Lots of things done right on this shift.

The Rangers scored on the powerplay for the second game in a row.

Ok, now that this has sunk in, the Rangers didn’t really have a strong powerplay shift until this goal. Michael Del Zotto started by fighting off a forechecker and making a one-handed pass to Chris Kreider in the defensive zone. Kreider skated through and dumped the puck in, and more importantly, took a hit on the chase to move the puck to the weak side. Dan Girardi eventually wound up with the puck, and drew Danny Paille to him while flipping a backhanded pass to Mats Zuccarello between the top of the circle and the blue line. At this point, Gregory Campbell cheats down a bit, and Girardi reads this and gets in a position to shoot at the point. His one-timer went through everyone, including a Brian Boyle screen in front, and to the back of the net.

Bruins 1, Rangers 1

Eminger out of position, Cally has to cover. Weak side is open.

Eminger out of position, Cally has to cover. Weak side is open.

The Rangers special teams giveth, the Rangers special teams taketh. The Blueshirts have had trouble all series killing penalties, specifically whenever Torey Krug shoots. This time was no different. During a routine zone entry and setup, Krug came in late and circled from the blue line to the top of the weak side circle. Steve Eminger is a bit out of position, as he should have Tyler Seguin in front, but he’s over by the boards. This causes Ryan Callahan to cover the slot instead of watching the pass to the weak side. Krug slipped into the open ice, and Cally couldn’t get over in time to deflect the pass or block the shot. With the way Krug has been playing, the goal was a certainty.

Bruins 2, Rangers 1

Five Bruins in the picture, three around the pass. Bad idea.

Five Bruins in the picture, three around the pass. Bad idea.

This is why Roman Hamrlik never really played as a Ranger. His ill-advised pass (pictured above) gave the Bruins puck possession in the neutral zone. Then his again ill-advised half-attempt to get the loose puck at the blue line caused a rough transition and eventually led to Gregory Campbell going untouched to pick up a rebound in the scrum in front.

Bruins 3, Rangers 1

Empty net.

That’s all folks. All things considered, the season wasn’t a total loss. Time to regroup and come back strong next year.

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