The Lunch Pail A.C. | Top 10 Moments from 1977-85 | Boston Bruins
Cherry-led Bruins helped Boston move past Orr Era
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Tonight's Officials
Referees Peter MacDougall (38), Pierre Lambert (37)
Linespersons Tyson Baker (88), Ben O'Quinn (91)
TONIGHT’S GAME-The Bruins host the Rangers tonight in the second of three games between these teams this season and the first of two gamesat TD Garden this year ... The Bruins are 19-5-4 overall this season and they are 10-2-1 on home ice ... They are 10-5-3 in games vs.Eastern Conference teams this season.- The Bruins are playing their fourth of 12 sets of back-to-back games this season as they had a 5-4 shootout win at the Islanderslast night and host the NY Rangers tonight ... They are currently 3-1-0 in the frst game of those sets and 2-1-0 in the second games.-The Bruins will next play the NY Rangers in Boston tonight and will host Minnesota on Dec. 19 ... They will then face three roadgames to Winnipeg on 12/22, Minnesota on 12/23 and Buffalo on 12/27.
MILESTONES APPROACHING- Kevin Shattenkirk is 1 goal short of his 100th NHL goal.- Pavel Zacha is 2 goals shy of his 100th NHL goal.- Pavel Zacha is 6 games shy of his 500th NHL game.- Ian Mitchell is 6 games shy of his 100th NHL game.- Brandon Carlo is 8 points short of his 100th NHL point.
INJURIES (47 Man-games lost)- Charlie McAvoy: IR- Pavel Zacha: IR- Derek Forbort: LTIR
BOSTON vs NY RANGERS, LIFETIME SERIES- The Bruins and Rangers are meeting for the 668th time in their histories with a 305-253-97-12 mark and a 2,095-1,935 scoringedge in those games.- The Bruins are 176-106-42-7 lifetime in 331 games at TD Garden with a 1,154-913 scoring advantage in those contests.- The Bruins lost the frst game of this season’s series with a 7-4 setback on 11/24.
Both sides will be completing a back-to-back set after taking opposite paths to Friday victories.
The Atlantic Division-leading Bruins remained atop the conference standings by capping a two-game road swing with a come-from-behind, 5-4 shootout win over the New York Islanders.
Boston trailed 2-0, 3-2 and 4-3.
"We fought back every time we went down," Boston rookie defenseman Mason Lohrei said. "It just shows you the kind of group we have. ... These guys are so calm and collected. They've been here before. A lot of great players. It's cool to be a part of that."
Boston grinded without defenseman Charlie McAvoy and forward Pavel Zacha, who landed on injured reserve this week due to upper-body injuries.
Bruins coach Jim Montgomery indicated that both players were progressing in their recovery.
"Both are special players, but I guess if I have to pick one (area where they are most impactful), I would say on the power play, because they're both two of the five guys that are out there on our first unit," Montgomery said.
Without two stars, Boston got a 33-save effort from Linus Ullmark, three power-play goals and Lohrei's game-tying tally from a tight angle with 3:09 left in regulation to stay in the game against the Islanders.
David Pastrnak, Morgan Geekie and James van Riemsdyk all finished with a goal and an assist before Charlie Coyle and Pastrnak scored in the shootout to lead Boston in a game it they never led until the end.
Montgomery called it the team's biggest win of the year.
He said of the team's willingness to battle, "It's everything. It's our fiber, right? It's that we compete hard, we play good defense and we've got ourselves an opportunity every night to have success."
The Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers entered their 5-1 win over the visiting Anaheim Ducks on Friday in a season-worst slump of three losses in a four-game span. Included in that span was a 7-3 setback to the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, when Igor Shesterkin allowed six goals on 29 shots.
"(The tough stretch) is where you learn about yourself and ... what it takes to ultimately continue to be successful," New York forward Blake Wheeler said. "We know it's going to take the same (effort) and even better to keep this going, because the better you do, the more teams are going to focus in on and try to bring their best game against our team."
New York responded well, using a run of five unanswered goals to become the NHL's second 20-win team this season. The Rangers reached that mark in 28 games, tying the franchise record set by the Stanley Cup-winning 1993-94 season.
Chris Kreider scored twice on Friday to move into third place on the Rangers' all-time goals list with 281, passing Adam Graves (280). Kreider also reached 500 career points, and Adam Edstrom scored in his NHL debut.
Edstrom was recalled from AHL Hartford earlier Friday to replace Nick Bonino (illness). Jimmy Vesey, who scored the game-winning goal in the second period, was originally questionable to play after taking a puck to the face in practice during the week.
The Rangers piled up 39 shots and scored twice on the power play.
"When we're moving things fast -- the puck, our minds, our legs -- and when we're competing on pucks hard, that's when we're at our absolute best," Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said.
Boston swept last season's three head-to-head meetings, but New York struck first this time with a 7-4 home win on Nov. 25.
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