rangers bruins mats zuccarello zdeno chara

Well this was a fun game, wasn’t it? The Rangers controlled the first period, jumping out to a 1-0 lead. It was a totally different story in the second, with the Bruins scoring three unanswered, seemingly demoralizing the Rangers and putting this non-playoff team to rest. But then the third happened, and the Rangers sent the game to overtime on the back of two Pavel Buchnevich assists.

Mika Zibanejad (goal) and Mats Zuccarello (assist) stayed crazy hot. Filip Chytil got his 10th of the season, and Tony DeAngelo added his 10th assist. It’s funny what happens when you play the skill players. And maybe, just maybe, DeAngelo figures out his maturity issues. Optimism!

The overtime was crazy, with ridiculous saves by both Alex Georgiev and Jaro Halak. Give me all the 3-on-3 OT. It’s a gimmick, but it’s a great gimmick. I dislike the shootout, but that was fun to watch last night too!

The outcome wasn’t so good for the tank, but my god that was a fun one to watch.

Rangers 1, Bruins 0

This is a great bird’s eye view of the goal. Mika Zibanejad got the puck deep, then circled out of the zone and crept back in unnoticed to the high slot. Meanwhile Mats Zuccarello got in deep to collect the puck and found Zibanejad coming back in with a great pass.

Bruins 1, Rangers 1

This is a great deflection by Danton Heinen. Tony DeAngelo was mauling him in front and he still got a stick –albeit it looked accidental– on the Matt Grzelcyk shot.

Bruins 2, Rangers 1

Sure, this is great passing and all, but the Blueshirts allowed to cross-ice passes. This is a total defensive failure from all five players on the ice.

Bruins 3, Rangers 1

Patrice Bergeron with the deflection while there are two bodies in front. Georgiev stood no chance.

Bruins 3, Rangers 2

Pavel Buchnevich with the drive to the net, taking Zdeno Chara with him behind. Brandon Carlo overskated the rush, which left Kevin Hayes wide open in front. Buch threw the puck at the net with Jaro Halak out of position, and Hayes was there to poke it in after Jimmy Vesey got the puck to the slot.

Bruins 3, Rangers 3

Just a good case of Filip Chytil being in front for the screen on Buchnevich’s shot and collecting hte rebound. Not the best game for Carlo, as this is now the second man he’s lost this period that led to a goal.

Shot Heatmap

What is going on with the Rangers? This isn’t total domination (they had four more attempts than the Bruins), but it’s still another game where they held the possession advantage. They’ve been good lately!

The post-McLeod era began with a fun game, which is scary because there was no one on the ice to protect those precious Rangers! Skill hockey is fun, let’s keep it going, even if just for a short while.

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