BRUINS 2, RANGERS 1: Tim Thomas turned aside 33 shots and visiting Boston wrapped up the Northeast Division title and the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
Defenseman Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron scored second-period goals as the Bruins snapped a five-game losing streak to New York and prevented the Rangers from clinching the top seed in the East.
Marian Gaborik scored the lone goal for the Rangers, who remain tied with the Vancouver Canucks in the Presidents' Trophy race with 107 points and three games to play.
Thomas kept New York off the scoreboard after Gaborik's early goal and improved to 5-9-3 lifetime against the Rangers.
Gaborik put the Rangers on top 4 1/2 minutes into the opening period, scoring on a breakaway for his 40th goal. A wicked slapper from Boston captain Zdeno Chara richocheted off teammate Jordan Caron's foot and sprung Gaborik loose.
Seidenberg leveled it at exactly four minutes into the second period, ripping a one-timer past a screened Henrik Lundqvist, who lost for the first time in five starts.
Boston went ahead nearly eight minutes later when Bergeron collected a loose puck to the side of the net and tucked it past Lundqvist to give the Bruins their third win in 12 meetings with New York.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gaborik needs two more goals to reach his career high of 42, which was set with the Rangers in 2009-10 and with Minnesota in 2007-08. ... Seidenberg scored for the second straight game after failing to notch a goal in his previous 27 contests. ... Chara assisted on Seidenberg's goal to reach 40 for the first time and set a career high with 52 points. ... The Rangers had held the Bruins to 0-for-8 on the power play this season until Bergeron's tally.
Boston | NY Rangers | |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Points | Marian Gaborik 1 |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Goals | Marian Gaborik 1 |
Zdeno Chara 1 | Assists | Marian Gaborik 0 |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tim Thomas .971 | Save Percentage | Henrik Lundqvist .905 |
Tim Thomas 33 | Saves | Henrik Lundqvist 19 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 21 | 2 | 1-2 | 3-3 | 6 | 32 |
NY Rangers | 34 | 1 | 0-3 | 1-2 | 4 | 16 |