*Photo from WCVB*
Having guys who can score throughout the lineup is key for championship teams. In the last couple of years, the Boston Bruins have had that kind of depth, even though it hasn't resulted in a Stanley Cup just yet. That depth also displayed itself tonight. 3 different Bruins scored, Tuukka Rask made 33 saves, and the Bruins topped the New York Rangers by a 3-2 score with an overtime win on Wednesday night.
Julian Gauthier started the scoring for the Rangers in the first period at 13:50, giving the Rangers a 1-0 lead. It stayed like that until 9:41 into the second, when Chris Wagner scored on a short handed breakaway for the Bruins to tie things up at one. In the 3rd, Anders Bjork scored to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead, but a goal from Kevin Rooney shortly after re-tied things at 2-2. Just 36 seconds into overtime, Marchand sent one to the back of the net to give the Bruins the win.
Bjork's goal in the 3rd was his first of the season, and also his first in over a year, with his last goal coming on February 1, 2020, against the Minnesota Wild. Bjork said of finally scoring again that "It felt good. A lot of that credit goes to my linemates. Charlie and JD were playing well tonight and making a lot of things happen. I got rewarded because of that. It's huge for my offensive confidence. I think this year that hasn't been a strength of mine, but I've been trying to be responsible defensively and trying to bring speed every night."
Rask stopped 33 of 35 shots for the Bruins, as they improved their point streak to 9 straight games with the win, also improving to 9-1-2 on the season, first place in the NHL's East Division. Rask also made some highlight saves, stopping Mika Zibanejad of the Rangers on two separate occasions with two beautiful saves, including one that he slid across the crease and caught in his glove.
Rask said of that save that "I didn't recognize that until the puck hit my glove. I just thought it was gonna be a breakaway. I stretched out and made the save. Sometimes, it's one of those that you've got to be lucky to be good, and in that instance I got lucky."
Alexandar Georgiev started in net for the Rangers on his birthday, but did not come away with a win as a present. Georgiev stopped 29 saves on 32 shots, including a breakaway from Marchand in OT, but Marchand then got the best of him his second time around, which was the dagger. With the loss, New York falls to 4-5-3 to start the season, just 6th in the East Division.
The two teams square off again on Friday night, with Igor Shesterkin expected to start for the Rangers, and Jaroslav Halak expected to start for Boston.
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