Bruins Can’t Hold Late Lead, Lose to Rangers in OT

It was a milestone night for one skater, but the Boston Bruins (30-20-3) lost a late lead and fell to the New York Rangers (22-25-6) in overtime at Madison Square Garden on Monday. 

Elias Lindholm (11) scored twice, and Morgan Geekie (29) added one. David Pastrnak assisted on all three goals and recorded his 900th career point. Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves for the Bruins; he is 4-0-1 in his last five games. 

The Bruins were without Nikita Zadorov, who took an awkward fall during Saturday’s game.

The Rangers tied the game with six minutes remaining in the third, then Matthew Robertson’s overtime winner lifted them to a 4-3 win. 

The goal scoring started with the Rangers, much like it did last time these teams met. Will Cuylle redirected a shot from Urho Vaakanainen, the Bruins’ 2017 first-round pick, beating Korpisalo on his glove side.

David Pastrnak showed off his playmaking abilities as he entered the offensive zone and played a pass toward the net-front. The puck deflected off JT Miller; then, Elias Lindholm kicked it to his stick and scored. 

Then, 26 seconds later, the Rangers responded. Gabe Perreault played a cross-ice feed to JT Miller. On a one-timer, Miller beat the sprawled-out Korpisalo. 

Charlie McAvoy left the first period early after taking a hit from the Rangers’ Cuylle. He returned to start the second period. 

The first period ended with a 2-1 Rangers’ lead; they held a 10-7 shots advantage and an 18-6 edge in hits.

The Bruins upped their game for the second period. 

It started off with a JT Miller turnover. Charlie McAvoy played the puck to David Pastrnak, who had his shot blocked. Elias Lindholm picked up the loose puck and beat Jonathan Quick for his second goal of the night. 

Then, five and a half minutes later, David Pastrnak found Morgan Geekie in the left circle. Geekie steered a shot on Quick, which beat him by his blocker and gave the Bruins the lead.

With three assists, David Pastrnak extended his point streak to a season-high seven games (2-10–12). He recorded his 900th career point and is now sixth all-time in points as a Bruin.

The Bruins took and killed three penalties in the second period against a red-hot Rangers power play. They entered this game with the NHL’s second-best man-advantage since the New Year (34.6%), trailing only the Bruins (38.7%).  

The Bruins also killed one more penalty in the third. 

The Rangers pressed for the majority of the third period; they got the tying goal at the 13:43 mark. Will Borgen drove a shot from the blue line, which hit Andrew Peeke’s back and got by Korpisalo.

The game went to overtime tied at three. 

With just over a minute remaining, Matthew Robertson carried the puck from his own zone and beat Joonas Korpisalo under his pads. 

The Bruins did not record a shot in the 3:53 of overtime. 

Following the game, the team travels back to Boston for a home game against the Nashville Predators (24-23-4) on Tuesday. The Bruins are 8-1-1 in their last 10, and have won seven straight games at the TD Garden.