Bruins 2, Rangers 1: Fourth-liner Daniel Paille scored to snap a tie with 3:31 remaining in the third period as visiting Boston rallied to seize a commanding 3-0 advantage in its Eastern Conference second-round series.
Paille also assisted on defenseman Johnny Boychuk's tally earlier in the session for the fourth-seeded Bruins, who have received 11 goals in the playoffs from their blue-liners. Tuukka Rask turned aside 23 shots - including a pair of point-blank attempts by Rick Nash in the third period.
Taylor Pyatt scored and Henrik Lundqvist finished with 32 saves for the sixth-seeded Rangers, who will look to stave off elimination in Game 4 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
With the game tied at 1-1, Gregory Campbell unleashed a shot from along the left-wing boards that deflected off Lundqvist's mask and trickled near the goal line before inexplicably bouncing out of the goaltender's crease. Paille alertly skated in from behind the net and chipped the puck off the right post and in.
New York drew first blood at 3:53 of the second period as defenseman Ryan McDonagh's wrist shot from just inside the blue line was deflected by Pyatt and sailed inside the left post for his second goal in four games. The Rangers held the 1-0 lead until 3:10 of the third, when Paille cleaned up a loose puck behind the net and fed Boychuk, who wired a shot from the point past Lundqvist for his second tally in as many contests.
GAME NOTEBOOK: After yielding five goals in a loss in Game 2, Lundqvist vowed to put forth a better performance on Tuesday. The reigning Vezina Trophy winner stayed true to his word by making a pair of stellar right-pad saves on breakaway bids by Cs Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin midway through the first period. ... New York continued to struggle on the power play. The Rangers, who failed to score on two opportunities, are 0-for-10 in the series and 2-for-38 in the postseason. ... Hall of Famer and former Ranger Wayne Gretzky and musician Sting were in attendance at Madison Square Garden. Gretzky was shown on the scoreboard and received a standing ovation early in the second period. ... Boston did not receive a power-play opportunity.
Boston | NY Rangers | |
Daniel Paille 2 | Points | Taylor Pyatt 1 |
Daniel Paille 1 | Goals | Taylor Pyatt 1 |
Shawn Thornton 2 | Assists | Ryan McDonagh 1 |
N/A | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .958 | Save Percentage | Henrik Lundqvist .941 |
Tuukka Rask 23 | Saves | Henrik Lundqvist 32 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 34 | 2 | 0-0 | 2-2 | 6 | 34 |
NY Rangers | 24 | 1 | 0-2 | 0-0 | 2 | 21 |