Panarin scores hat trick to help Rangers defeat Bruins

BOSTON -- Artemi Panarin scored a hat trick for the New York Rangers in a 5-2 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Thursday.

The Rangers (46-20-4) swept the three-game season series against the Bruins and maintained their two-point lead on the Carolina Hurricanes for first place in the Metropolitan Division. 

“In hockey, [it’s] hard to focus on [if] you want to be third or do you want to be first,” Panarin said. “You just play every game for [the] win, for that great feeling for tomorrow.”

Mika Zibanejad and Adam Fox each had a goal and an assist, and Jonathan Quick made 24 saves for New York, which has won six of its past eight games. Quick earned his 391st win to tie Ryan Miller for most in NHL history by a United States-born goalie.

“It means I’ve played with a lot of good players over the years,” Quick said. “It takes a lot to win one game, right? And you need coaching, four lines, six [defensemen], and so I’ve been fortunate to play with a lot of great players, and grateful for the work they’ve put in to allow me to achieve that.”

Justin Brazeau had a goal and an assist, and Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves for Boston (41-15-15), which had its three-game winning streak end. The Bruins remained three points ahead of the Florida Panthers for first place in the Atlantic Division; the Panthers lost 3-0 to the Nashville Predators on Thursday.

“[The Rangers] checked really well. I don’t think we checked well enough,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “I don’t think we competed hard enough on pucks.”

Jake DeBrusk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 8:04 of the first period. Quick stopped two netfront shots from Trent Frederic, but the second rebound bounced out to DeBrusk in the slot, where he wristed it through.

“They played a simple game,” DeBrusk said. “It seemed like they always had numbers back, and that made it hard for us to kind of come through it if we wanted to skate. And then, we just didn’t make the right decisions at times.”

Panarin tied it 1-1 at 7:58 of the second period, picking up a loose puck on the inside edge of the right face-off circle and slipping it five-hole past Swayman.

“Just trying to get [Panarin] out there more and more,” New York coach Peter Laviolette said. “You can just tell he’s creating every time he’s on the ice. He’s in the offensive zone, and sometimes the more he plays, the better he gets.”

Panarin gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead at 19:25 with his 40th goal of the season. Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm turned the puck over behind the net, and Panarin’s centering pass bounced off a sliding DeBrusk and through Swayman’s legs.

“We can just be a little smarter there in keeping the momentum our way,” Lindholm said. “And making them [have] to chase a little bit more. I think that’s what we can learn from this game.”

Brazeau tied it 2-2 at 3:17 of the third period, tapping in Brad Marchand’s shot in a netfront scrum, but Fox gave the Rangers a 3-2 lead 40 seconds later, going top shelf from the right circle at 3:57.

“You don’t want to lose, but you want to trust the process, and that’s what happened tonight,” Swayman said. “I think, again, a lot of opportunities to learn from our mistakes and move forward as a team.”

Zibanejad made it 4-2 by scoring into an empty net at 17:57, and Panarin completed the hat trick with another empty-net goal at 19:08 for the 5-2 final.

“I thought a lot of our decision-making [was good],” Zibanejad said. “And just I feel like how structured we were and the way we battled. I thought first period was maybe a little bit favored to them, but second and third I thought we played really well and to come away with a win, that’s huge for us.”

NOTES: Panarin got his seventh NHL hat trick, passing Vegas Golden Knights forward Jonathan Marchessault for the most among active undrafted players. It was his third of the season. … Fox set an NHL career high with his 13th goal of the season in his 60th game; he scored 12 last season in 82 games. Fox has eight points (three goals, five assists) in a six-game point streak. … Brazeau had his second consecutive multipoint game. The rookie forward scored two goals in a 6-2 win against the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.