Rangers 4, Bruins 3 (OT): Marian Gaborik scored an unassisted goal 27 seconds into overtime to cap his 14th career hat trick as host New York posted its first victory and avenged a season-opening loss to Boston.
Taylor Pyatt also tallied and Henrik Lundqvist turned aside 26 shots to improve to 20-7-2 in his career versus the Bruins. By extending the game beyond regulation, the Rangers prevented their first 0-3-0 start since the 1998-99 season.
Milan Lucic netted his second goal in as many games against New York. Brad Marchand added a power-play goal, Nathan Horton also tallied and Tuukka Rask finished with 29 saves for the Bruins.
In overtime, Chris Kelly's pass toward defenseman Andrew Ference was intercepted by Gaborik, who then pushed the puck ahead before using his superior speed to gain a step on blue-liner Johnny Boychuk. Gaborik's initial shot was denied by the right pad of Rask, but the veteran alertly batted the puck out of the air and into the net to whip Madison Square Garden into a frenzy.
Pyatt cleaned up a rebound on the doorstep to answer a goal by Lucic 46 seconds earlier to give New York a 3-2 advantage with 6:50 left in the second period. Horton forged a tie with 4:23 remaining in the third as he accepted Gregory Campbell's centering feed before one-timing a shot between the pads of Lundqvist for his first goal of the season.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Gaborik opened the scoring 4:36 into the contest, settling Rick Nash's feed before wristing a sharp-angle shot just under the crossbar. He doubled the advantage just 2:13 later by redirecting D Michael Del Zotto's shot from the right faceoff circle past Rask. ... Coach Claude Julien remains one victory shy of tying Don Cherry for third place on the Bruins' all-time wins list. Cherry has 231 victories. ... Bruins rookie D Dougie Hamilton was credited with an assist on Marchand's goal early in the second period for his first career point. The 19-year-old is the youngest player to compete in an NHL game this season.
Boston | NY Rangers | |
Nathan Horton 1 | Points | Marian Gaborik 3 |
Nathan Horton 1 | Goals | Marian Gaborik 3 |
Gregory Campbell 1 | Assists | Michael Del Zotto 1 |
Brad Marchand 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .879 | Save Percentage | Henrik Lundqvist .897 |
Tuukka Rask 29 | Saves | Henrik Lundqvist 26 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 29 | 3 | 1-5 | 5-5 | 17 | 36 |
NY Rangers | 33 | 4 | 0-5 | 4-5 | 17 | 17 |