One Big Takeaway As Rangers Blitz Bruins To Close Out Back-To-Back

The Boston Bruins continued a back-to-back Wednesday night with a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

Boston fell to 27-23-6 while New York improved to 26-23-2.

The Bruins struggled to find any momentum for the second straight night, though Boston bounced back for Tuesday’s 3-0 win over the Minnesota Wild after not recording a shot on goal in the opening nine minutes. The Bruins had just four shots in the first period.

New York struck first with hustle plays from J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad to set up Artemi Panarin for a one-timer that beat Joonas Korpisalo to give the Rangers the lead.

That certainly woke the Bruins up, who answered when David Pastrnak snapped a wobbler through Igor Shesterkin. Brad Marchand facilitated the puck with pressure as Elias Lindholm granted Boston a 2-1 lead just 16 seconds later. Fighting for energy on the back-to-back, Boston offered a roaring response in the blink of an eye.

New York once again struck with pace after draining Boston on a third-period penalty kill from Brad Marchand’s roughing minor. Just seconds after the kill, K’Andre Miller netted the equalizer for the Rangers. Special teams factored later in the period when the Rangers took the lead on a short-handed goal when Zibanejad sparked a 2-on-1 to feed Chris Kreider for the go-ahead score.

The Rangers took the 2-1 lead in the season series after Boston and New York split the first two games. The home team is 3-0 in the season series with the Rangers 2-0 at Madison Square Garden.

The Bruins play one more contest before the two-week break for the 4 Nations Face-Off. Boston hosts the Vegas Golden Knights for a Saturday matinee at TD Garden. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m. ET. You can catch the game on ABC.