TEN Goals, Two Hat Tricks Lead Bruins to Dismantle Rangers

BOSTON – For the first time since 1988, the Boston Bruins (24-19-2) scored 10 goals in a game, dismantling the New York Rangers (20-20-6), 10-2, on Saturday afternoon at the TD Garden. 

In a “white out” at the TD Garden, the Bruins put on a scoring parade, led by four from Marat Khusnutdinov (9), three from Pavel Zacha (13), two from Fraser Minten (10), and one from Charlie McAvoy (2). 

Jeremy Swayman made 27 saves on Saturday, while neither Rangers goalie could handle the damage. Jonathan Quick was pulled at the 30:47 mark after allowing six goals on 20 shots. In relief, Spencer Martin allowed four goals on 14 shots. 

The Rangers broke the ice and got the game started 84 seconds in. Mika Zibanejad steered a one-time feed by Jeremy Swayman and gave the Rangers an early lead.

However, the Rangers only held onto that lead for 67 seconds. Marat Khusnutdinov picked the puck up from the boards, outhustled Braden Schneider, and moved in on Jonathan Quick. He directed his shot towards Quick’s blocker and beat him low to tie the game.

Pavel Zacha continued the Bruins’ scoring in the opening frame. Zacha caught Will Borgen falling to the ice and cut towards the left circle. He fired a shot right into the top corner and gave Boston the lead. 

He was not done. Later in the first period, while the Bruins had a five-on-three, Zacha pushed a rebound towards the net, and it got by Jonathan Quick before Braden Schneider cleared it off the line. The period would end, and then the play went under review. New York’s bench made its way to the locker room, and the referees awarded the Bruins a goal. The Rangers had to come back out for the remaining 32.9 seconds of the period. 

Boston took a 3-1 lead into the first intermission. The team subsequently announced that Morgan Geekie would not return to the game; he attended to a family matter. 

The Bruins’ offense was not close to done when the second period started. 

It started when Jeremy Swayman denied a Vincent Trocheck penalty shot. 

Then, Fraser Minten continued the scoring, getting on the board to make it 4-1 Boston. Viktor Arvidsson played the puck to the slot as Minten barreled into the zone. Minten connected on the puck and scored his third goal in the last four games. 

Marat Khusnutdinov followed with his second tally of the day. He jumped over Jonathan Quick’s stick to position himself in front of the cage. David Pastrnak found his stick, making the goal a very simple tap-in for Khusnutdinov. 

Pavel Zacha, who had two goals in the first period, extended the Bruins’ lead to 6-1 at the 11:26 mark of the middle frame. Casey Mittelstadt kept the puck in the offensive zone and set up the Czech center in the circle for Zacha’s first career hat trick. 

Mike Sullivan then opted to pull Jonathan Quick after the third Zacha goal. 

JT Miller got in front of the net and beat Swayman to make it 6-2. 

The Bruins had a response to the second Ranger goal. David Pastrnak found Charlie McAvoy across the ice. He kicked the extra point through the uprights for the Bruins, scoring his second of the season. Jonathan Aspirot and David Pastrnak assisted on the goal; for Aspirot, it is the first assist of his NHL career. 

Boston controlled this game through two periods of play. They led 7-2 and tested both Rangers’ goalies with 22 shots. 

One hat trick was not enough for the Bruins as the goals continued to rain down. At the 3:51 mark of the third period, Marat Khusnutdinov redirected a shot from David Pastrnak. The redirection was enough to beat Spencer Martin, and Khusnutdinov tasked the TD Garden crowd to find another hat to throw. 

With eight minutes remaining in a six-goal game, Fraser Minten connected on a pass from David Pastrnak. His second goal of the afternoon also marked his tenth of the season.  

Despite the lopsided score, the TD Garden crowd was chanting for a tenth goal. Following the crowd’s instruction, Marat Khusnutdinov delivered with just under 90 seconds to play. He positioned himself in the slot and redirected Henri Jokiharju’s point shot behind Spencer Martin.

Khusnutdinov’s four-goal performance earned him the game’s first star. David Pastrnak, who had six assists, was named the second star. Pavel Zacha was therefore named the third star; he had a hat trick and an assist. 

The Bruins picked up their second straight win to start this five-game homestand. The stretch of home games continues on Sunday at 5:00 PM against the Pittsburgh Penguins.