Bruins Come Back to Claim a Point in OT Loss

BOSTON - For the third consecutive game, the Bruins found themselves behind in the third period. The B's have displayed resilience in claiming points in two of those three contests. However, after falling to the New York Rangers 3-2 in overtime, the Bruins lamented the razor thin margin between winning and losing.
"We certainly had opportunities to take advantage early and we didn't…" head coach Bruce Cassidy said following the loss at TD Garden on Saturday night. "Even in overtime, just lost control of pucks and lost our footing and it took away some good chances for us."

Despite having a goal disallowed, being victim to a bizarre goal against, and coming inches from taking the lead late in the third, there were still positives to take from the outcome.
"When you are down 2-0, it's not easy to come back in this league against a good team and we did," said Cassidy.
Video: BOS Recap: Bruins earn a point in 3-2 overtime loss
The Bruins appeared to take the lead at the 4:29 in the first, when Ryan Spooner received a pass from David Krejci and scooped the puck into the back of the net to cap off a crisp passing play. After further review, the play was deemed offside.
Ten minutes later, Michael Grabner raced into the zone and fired the puck over the cage. The puck caromed off the glass and off a helpless Rask into the net to give the Rangers a 1-0 advantage.
"I'll talk to the bull gang right after this, what the heck] happened…" said Rask. "I felt it in my back, that's all. It hit my mask first. Give me an assist on it."
[Video: The Bruins speak to media after 3-2 OT loss to NYR
Just 2:41 into the second, the Rangers tacked on a second goal when J.T. Miller burst in all alone on Rask and scored on the backhand. Facing the deficit, the B's were unable to take advantage of four second-period power plays.
"We're forcing plays when they're not there," said Brad Marchand. "Maybe we need to realize we have an extra second, need to calm it down a bit… we are pressing a bit, but something we need to work on and get better at."
Cassidy also noted the team's shortcomings on the man advantage.
"Power play, like I said, was out of sync," said Bruce Cassidy. "I put that on all five guys. They were just not on the same page or forcing plays that got guys frustrated."
"There were problems getting into the zone, and there were problems in the zone. There were problems, we aren't going to hide from that."
Despite the power-play struggles, the B's finally solved Henrik Lundqvist late in the second when Danton Heinen deflected a blast from Zdeno Chara into the back of the net with 2:48 left in the frame.
"I knew he was going to put it on net," said Heinen. "He got a lot of wood on it and luckily I got a stick on it."

In the third, the Bruins eventually tied it on a David Pastrnak-Brad Marchand power-play connection. Pastrnak carried the puck below the goal line before whipping it across the front of the net to find an open Marchand, who roofed it to tie the game, 2-2, at 5:38.
"I kind of got out behind the net and I look up what's open," said Pastrnak. "Bergy [Patrice Bergeron] wasn't, and I try to hit Marchand and, you know, there was a lane and, you know, he made a good shot."

David Krejci nearly gave the Bruins the lead in the waning moments, as the Bruins center beat Lundqvist only to see the puck ring off the cross-bar and out.
In overtime, the Bruins and Rangers traded odd-man rushes before a too many men call put the B's on the penalty kill. Mats Zuccarello fired a perfect shot into the corner of the net to claim the win.
"You play your angles," Rask said about his approach on the winning goal. "It's a perfect shot. If you beat me like that, I tip my hat and you won because I thought he's got no corner there, but obviously he did."
More observations from the loss to New York:

Points streaks alive: Marchand and Pastrnak both collected a point on the Bruins game-tying goal in the third period.
Pastrnak has now recorded a point in 11 consecutive games, matching the longest points streak of his career, which occurred from February 23-March 16, 2017. He now has five goals and eight assists in his past 11 games.
Marchand's goal extended his career-high points streak to eight games. He has five goals and seven assists over the past eight games.
Spooner returns: After missing four games, Spooner made his return and had a strong opening period that saw him score a goal, only for it to be waved off.
"I felt good," Spooner said. "It wasn't a bad game. I thought the first period, probably my best period. The second period kind of tailed off a little bit, but as a whole I was happy with it.
"He scored a goal; they didn't count it," said Cassidy. "He won some battles on the wall playing his off side… So yeah, I was fine with it."

Tuukka's strong play continues:Rask stopped 25 of 28 shots, with two of the goals coming on an uncontrollable bounce and on a breakaway. The Fin has posted a .950 save percentage in his previous five starts, with a goals against average of 1.40. The Bruins are 4-0-1 in those five contests.