Dougie Hamilton got his first NHL point tonight! (Credit:flickr/Steph Vail)
Saturday it was Rangers at Bruins; tonight it was Bruins at Rangers for the teams second of three meetings this season. Last game as we know went wonderfully for Boston. Tonight the Rangers were seeking one thing…REVENGE! And sure enough they did, but it took a lot of effort. Both teams played hard and deserved to win and very rarely will I say that about anytime facing my Bruins. Tuukka Rask was in net for the third start in a row facing off against Henrik Lundqvist.
Here’s what went down in the Big Apple:
First Period:
Well the first period started off aggressive on both ends. The Rangers were the first to get on the board at 4:36 with a goal from Marian Gaborik. You can give the assist to Brad Richards. Unfortunately they weren’t done and by they I mean Gaborik because at 6:49 he scored again this time off a pass from Michael Del Zotto. As you can imagine, Coach Claude Julien was anything but happy and a time out was issued so he could wake up the defense. Oh Dennis Seidenberg please get better soon!
The Bruins were the first to get the power chance thanks to Brian Boyle. This PP was necessary in giving the B’s some sort of momentum and it did…kind of. But there were no goals. There was another PP and yeah that didn’t work either. So Adam McQuaid decide to take it into his own hands and take on Boyle. You don’t hit a puck off of McQuaid leg AFTER getting a whistle blown for offsides, you just don’t.
This gave the Rangers their first shot at a PP. And eventually we come to the end of an overall bad period for the Bruins. Rangers lead in shots 11-8. One positive is the B’s are leading the faceoff circle for the third straight game.
Second Period:
Started off with a slash…literally. Milan Lucic had by far the B’s best chance to score and was slashed. And friends we have our first power play goal of the season from the Bruins thanks to Brad Marchand. The assist on that goes to Dougie Hamilton for his first NHL assists. It couldn’t have come at a better time.
Then with 7:36 to go Looch ties it up! And just as I was posting a happy tweet, Taylor Pyatt scores giving the Rangers the lead once again. The rest of the period presented many missed opportunities for the B’s and at this point I was still wondering where the defense was. Shots on goal were 20-18 Rangers.
Third Period:
I have nothing to say about the first five minutes because it was uneventful. Then Aaron Johnson goes in the box. Not soon after McQuaid follows on a very iffy boarding call. So yeah the Rangers had a five-on-three. But you wouldn’t know that because the Bruins took full advantage of the disadvantage. Yes I realize at this point they were down by a goal so a goal would have been ideal, but the B’s penalty kill has been spot on thus far.
One thing I will say is Hamilton will get his first NHL goal by the end of the week, mark my words. Dougie is playing like the player the Bruins expected him to be when he was drafted last year.
Back to the game, at 6:05, we had ourselves a four-on-four as Chris Kelly got called for interference and Rick Nash for holding. This sets up Nathan Horton to get his first goal of the season and first goal in over a year. Credit to Gregory Campbell for that one! Sidenote, we should thank Dennis Wideman for his one because Horty/Soupy were acquired from the Panthers for that man! There’s now 4:23 remaining in the third period. Let me just say the Rangers got MANY chances to win but Rask stood on his head and with that we went to OT for the second game in a row.
Overtime:
It didn’t last long. Gaborik earns a hat trick and the Rangers take round two.
Overall, the boys get a point, Horty and Hamilton get their first points, and B’s are in the lead in the Northeast division. I would consider this game a positive!
The B’s are off tomorrow and return to action Friday night at home against the New York Islanders.
A Cup A Bruin 