Lundqvist leads Rangers to victory over Bruins
With the Rangers struggling offensively, Henrik Lundqvist bailed them out with a vintage performance.
Lundqvist made 32 saves on his 35th birthday and New York got third-period goals from Pavel Buchnevich and Oscar Lindberg to beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Thursday night.
“You can never score on him,” said Rangers newcomer Brendan Smith, acquired from Detroit before the trade deadline this week. “I got to watch it on the opposite side and it was amazing to be a part of.”
Lundqvist bounced back after giving up nine goals in his previous two games. He earned his 403rd NHL win, tying Grant Fuhr for 10th on the career list.
“I tried to leave everything out there today,” Lundqvist said. “In the end we came up with some big plays, big blocks and we found a way.”
The Rangers have mustered only 17 goals in the last eight games and are 4-3-1 over that stretch.
“In the third we had a couple of chances that we buried and then we grinded it out,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “The goaltender made some big saves and he found us a way to win.”
Boston was stymied on several outstanding chances as Lundqvist improved to 25-12-2 against the Bruins with a 1.93 goalsagainst average.
New York, which has beaten Boston five straight times, outscored the Bruins 12-5 while sweeping the three-game season series.
Brad Marchand scored his team-leading 29th goal for the Bruins to cut it to 2-1 at 12:56 of the third. David Backes just about extinguished any final hopes for Boston when he was whistled for goaltender interference with 2:22 remaining.
“I don’t agree with the call and you can watch the replay,” Backes said. “He initiated the contact and it is a frustrating way to finish the game.”
Buchnevich, called up from the minors earlier in the day, fired a shot over goalie Tuukka Rask’s left shoulder to put the Rangers ahead. Lindberg scored 4:25 later to make it 2-0 at 9:35 of the third.
Marchand tipped in a pass from David Pastrnak.
“I think the effort was there,” Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron said. “We were playing a great team, but points are at a premium and we will need to bounce back Saturday against New Jersey.”
Rask made 19 saves for Boston, which lost for only the second time in nine games.
NOTES
New York has won 11 of 13 on the road and leads the NHL with 22 road wins . ... The Rangers are 1 for 33 on the power play over the last 12 games . ... New York swept the season series from Boston for the first time since 2006-07 . ... Marchand has 24 points over the last 15 games . ... Rangers forward Derek Stepan hasn’t scored in 19 games . ... Boston was held under two goals for the first time in 14 games.
UP NEXT
Rangers: Host the Montreal Canadiens today.
Bruins: Host the New Jersey Devilstoday.