Bruins prove too much for Rangers in potential playoff preview

BOSTON -- It would be unfair to call the game between the Boston Bruins and the New York Rangers on Saturday afternoon a potential preview of what might be seen in the Eastern Conference Final of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Because, while those two teams might well be the last two standing in the East, what happened at TD Garden wasn't exactly a fair fight.

The Bruins came in riding a nine-game winning streak that became 10 with a
4-2 win against the undermanned Rangers
, who were without forward Tyler Motte (injury), defenseman Ryan Lindgren (injury) and defenseman K'Andre Miller (suspension), using only 16 skaters.
Still, these were two teams whose goals were made clear in past few weeks: They are all in.
Both the Bruins and Rangers had gone hog-wild prior to the 2023 NHL Trade Deadline, acquiring a wealth of talent, Vladimir Tarasenko and Patrick Kane for the Rangers, Dmitry Orlov, Tyler Bertuzzi and Garnet Hathaway for the Bruins. And yet, at least one of these teams will not make the Stanley Cup Final. In the stacked Eastern Conference, it's impossible even to guarantee a win in the first round.
On Saturday, it was the Bruins who shined, a team still somehow finding motivation despite running away with the Atlantic Division, a team with a playoff spot all but sewn up with 20 regular-season games remaining.
"For us, it's the Stanley Cup," goalie Linus Ullmark said. "That's the only thing. Records are meant to be broken. But once you have the hardware, that can never be taken away from you."
Two nights after they became the first team in the NHL to top 100 points, the Bruins reached 103, 15 more than the Carolina Hurricanes in the race for the Presidents' Trophy, awarded to the team with the League's best record. Their goal differential is plus-105, with the New Jersey Devils next at plus-54. Ullmark, the favorite for the Vezina Trophy as the best goalie in the NHL, is 32-4-1 with a 1.89 goals-against average and a .938 save percentage.
"It's just finding a way with this group, never panicking, no matter what happens, whether we're getting outplayed, outshot, whatever the case is," forward Charlie Coyle said. "It's just sticking with it. There's no sense of panic. Everyone's calm. Everyone knows what the task is."

Given the limitations for the Rangers, it wasn't all that surprising that the Bruins acquisitions outshined the Rangers', with Bertuzzi and Orlov (and also Tarasenko) each getting an assist. For Orlov, it marked his ninth point (three goals, six assists) in five games since being traded, after he scored 19 points (three goals, 16 assists) in 43 games with the Washington Capitals this season.
The Bruins struck first, with 1:53 remaining in the first period. It marked the first point for Bertuzzi as a member of the Bruins, a little flick from behind the net to Coyle in the slot for a one-timer.
Bertuzzi said he was running mostly on adrenaline. Still, the line he formed with Coyle and Trent Frederic was the team's best offensive line, as coach Jim Montgomery pointed out, a scary prospect for teams looking at the two lines ahead of them with awe.
"He's a hockey player," Montgomery said of Bertuzzi. "He made a lot of plays. Set [David Krejci] up for an open net in the second and it popped and rolled on his stick, or else that's in the back of the net. He's really smart with his game management. He didn't force plays at all."
The Bruins scored again just 30 seconds into the second period, a shorthanded goal by Tomas Nosek who, after a nifty little dangle, snuck the puck in behind Shesterkin's left pad.
The Rangers got one back at 7:03 on the power play, courtesy of Alexis Lafreniere, who would score again at 18:34 of the third.
But the game was sealed by Patrice Bergeron, the all-time great Bruins player who may or may not be in his final season, and for whom all this seems to be being done -- as a thank you for being who he has been to the Bruins for 19 seasons.
The Rangers, meanwhile, are still in a feeling-out process, still working through their adjustment.
"Obviously we want it to be better," forward Mika Zibanejad said. "We weren't great the last couple of games (also lost 5-3 against the Ottawa Senators on Thursday), but we've just got to get back to work, spend some time on the ice and talk and have the reps and just get better."
Both the Rangers and the Bruins have gotten their reinforcements now. The last quarter of the season is here. The push is for the playoffs.
On this day, the Bruins were the better team. The Rangers were short-handed.
It was the final time the two teams will see each other in the regular season. But it would be hard to rule out a return engagement in May -- and hard not to look forward to seeing exactly that.