Bruins wake up, shut down Rangers for revenge

The Rangers completely dismantled the Bruins on Friday, so we had to assume something the Bruins would get revenge today. They came out a completely different team, and shut down the Rangers from start to finish. Say what you want about effort, consistency, and afternoon games, the Bruins just gave the Rangers nothing. Sometimes you tap the stick and move on. This wasn’t one of those games where the Rangers were sloppy. The Bruins were just better.

It’s worth reminding folks that the Rangers split a two game set with the best team in the division without Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil, Jacob Trouba, and Kaapo Kakko. That said, Mika Zibanejad’s Casper act is a huge problem. With all these guys out, Zibanejad needs to step up. Chris Kreider and Ryan Strome have answered the call so far, but Zibanejad has been non-existent. Let’s hope this is lingering COVID effects, and not a sharp decline.

Bruins 1, Rangers 0 – Just a good move

If you’re looking for a defensive fault here, there is none. K’Andre Miller and Chris Kreider had good communication here, with Kreider releasing because Miller had the better angle. Charlie Coyle just made a nice move on the angle taken by Miller, which gave him a cut to the inside and a quick shot over Alex Georgiev’s glove. Georgiev was pulled for the rest of the period after this for concussion protocol. He should’ve been pulled immediately after Nick Ritchie fell on him, not after the goal.

Bruins 2, Rangers 0 – Traffic in front

Good move by Connor Clifton at the point, which Brendan Lemieux bought. This opened a shooting lane with four guys in front. Igor Shesterkin didn’t see it, and this hit Trent Frederic in front.

Bruins 3, Rangers 0 – Clean faceoff loss and traffic

The Rangers, if they are going to lose a faceoff, need to at least not lose them cleanly. It’s the clean losses that hurt. The Bruins went to work immediately, and it’s clear Georgiev never saw this shot from the point.

Bruins 3, Rangers 1 – The B’s Seas Part

I don’t know what the Bruins were doing on this. Colin Blackwell was given a ton of ice and the Bruins just let him walk in from the blue line to the high slot for a prime chance.

Bruins 4, Rangers 1 – Empty netter

Charlie Coyle empty netter. The capper on the Bruins revenge on the Rangers.

Shot Heatmap – Bruins On Display

The Rangers did a decent job limiting quality again. They weren’t perfect by any stretch, but the number of quality chances against was relatively small. Their expected goals against was less than two goals at even strength. It’s tough to have any issues with the defensive performance. Just the Bruins were better.

Skater Results – Mostly Bad and Boring

The results were mostly boring, which makes sense since this game was pretty boring. There are some notable players that had bad games. What else could you actually expect? The Bruins were better. That’s the story.

For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. The Rangers put up six on the Bruins on Friday. The reaction is the Bruins got their collective acts together and shut it down this afternoon. It happens. The Bruins are a very good team. The Rangers are wildly inconsistent, missing four key players, five if you include the ghost of Mika Zibanejad. Hopefully the Rangers get Chytil and Kakko back for Tuesday’s game.

Charts from NaturalStatTrick and Evolving-Hockey.