Bruins Spoil the Return of Henrik

(Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

New York Ranger goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made his return to the ice in Boston on Saturday and did not play that badly considering he has not played since February 2^nd. He did not get that much help from his teammates or the refs or the War Room in Toronto, for that matter.

The War Room in Toronto once again screwed the Rangers over, as they overturned a call on an early goal by Milan Lucic. Henrik made a very good pad save and the rebound came out to Lucic, who kicked the puck past Lundqvist and into the Ranger net. But the ref was right there and waved off the goal. BUT, the War Room in Toronto decided to review the play and after a lengthy review decided to overturn the call. Replays clearly showed that Lucic moved his leg forward and there was a distinct kicking motion, but the Rangers were screwed once again.

The refs did not call one penalty on the Bruins, despite some very questionable plays and the Rangers have had only one power play opportunity in the last three games. This is incredible, as they have played the Kings, the Senators and the Bruins in those last three games, but only one power play opportunity. You cannot make this stuff up! The refs even missed the boarding penalty of Matt Bartkowski on Tanner Glass. The refs may have missed it, but James Sheppard did not and jumped right in. The ensuing fight was a good one, as Bartkowski gained early control and shoved Shep into the boards, but then Shep was able to fight back, and plant Bartkowski on his back on the ice.

The teammates of Henrik allowed the Bruins to have a few open shots, as giveaways and missed passes fell right into the laps of some Boston players. Lundqvist stopped a few and a few got passed him.

All in all, these were the reasons that Rangers could never get into the flow of this game. They may not have played very well today or against the Kings on Tuesday, but there have been circumstances beyond their control causing them problems. The Refs have been terrible and they never get a break from Toronto. But despite all of that, they are still in first place in the Metropolitan Division and depending what happens in the Montreal – Florida game, they may still be in first place in the Eastern Conference tomorrow.

Boston Goalie Tuukka Rask left the game 10 seconds into the second period and was replaced by Niklas Svedberg. There was no update by games end.

Scoring:

BOS: Milan Lucic (16) Assisted by Patrice Bergeron & David Pastnak

BOS: Milan Lucic (17) Assisted by Torey Krug & Ryan Spooner

BOS: Carl Soderberg (12) Unassisted

BOS: Reilly Smith (13) Assisted by Loui Eriksson & Carl Soderberg

NYR: Rick Nash (40) Assisted by Chris Kreider & Derek Stepan

NYR: Matt Hunwick (2) Assisted by Keith Yandle & J. T. Miller

Goalie Stats:

Tuukka Rask: 14 Saves on 14 Shots for a SV% of 1.000

Niklas Svedberg: 16 Saves on 18 Shots for a SV% of .889

Henrik Lundqvist: 26 Saves on 30 Shots for a SV% of .867

Team Stats                              NYR                              BOS

Shots on Goal                         32                                  30

Power Play                              0 for 0                           0 for 1

Hits                                         36                                  33

Giveaways                              10                                  7

Takeaways                             1                                    7

Face Off Wins                        28                                  42

Blocked Shots                         10                                  15

3 Stars of the Game:

3^rd Star: Torey Krug: 1 Assist

2^nd Star: Carl Soderberg: 1 Goal 1 Assist

1^st Star: Milan Lucic: 2 Goals

Broadway Bits:

Before this game, the Rangers were tied for seventh in the NHL on the Penalty Kill at 84.1%. They have killed off 180 out of 214 power plays this season. Against Boston, they were 1 for 1 on the penalty kill and are now 181 out of 215.

The Blueshirts were credited with 36 hits against the Bruins, as 13 players had at least one and nine players had at least three.

Rick Nash had a goal and four shots on goal in 15:54 of ice time. It is the third time in his career that Nash has reached 40 goals in a season.

This marks the 23^rd time a Ranger has reached the 40 goal plateau

Matt Hunwick had a goal, three shots on goal and one hit in 18:39 of ice time

Chris Kreider had one assist and a hit in 14:46 of ice time

Derek Stepan had an assist and three shots on goal in 15:41of ice time

Keith Yandle had an assist, two shots on goal, two hits and one blocked shot in 18:47 of ice time

T. Miller had an assist, three hits and one shot on goal in 13:45 of ice time

Ryan McDonagh tied for the game-high with four shots on goal, four hits and two blocked shots in 21:08 of ice time