Panarin gets point in return, Rangers shut out Bruins

BOSTON -- Artemi Panarin had an assist in his return to the lineup, and the New York Rangers ended their three-game losing streak with a 4-0 win against the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.

The forward, who missed nine games while on a leave of absence, had one shot on goal in 18:45 of ice time. He was not made available to the media after the game.
"I mean, it was definitely a huge boost getting him back, not only for the game but for around the locker room, around the guys again," New York forward Mika Zibanejad said. "I thought the whole team really came together today. A real team win. We played really, really solid over the 60 minutes and I think Panarin's return] definitely had something to do with it."
[Keith Kinkaid
made 18 saves for the Rangers (11-12-3) for his first shutout since Nov. 15, 2018, when he was with the New Jersey Devils. Chris Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich each had a goal and an assist, and Zibanejad had two assists.
"It feels good to get [a shutout] three years later," Kinkaid said. "I just think the way we played today is the way we need to play going forward. We didn't give them much. We kept their guys in check. Our commitment on the forecheck, getting back, you see guys picking their pockets on the backcheck and our commitment to our structure in the [defensive zone] was tremendous today. We need to keep putting our best foot forward there."
Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for the Bruins (14-7-4), who lost for the third time in four games (1-2-1). They defeated the Rangers 4-0 here Thursday.
"You know what we call it is A-and-B games," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "You can have a B-game. You're not always going to have your A-game, but you better bring your [darn] B-game and at least do something to help a team win, whether that's block a shot, kill a penalty, check well, etc. And we just didn't have that. We were well down the alphabet after A and B tonight, unfortunately.
"That snowballs on you, and then it becomes incumbent on Jaro to sort of pick up the pieces and I think he did his job as best he could. Unfortunately, we didn't respond for him or give him a break or get something going at the other end."

K'Andre Miller scored at 3:06 of the first period on a wrist shot from the right point to give the Rangers a 1-0 lead. Kreider made it 2-0 at 5:42 of the second period on a one-timer from the slot off a pass from Zibanejad.
The Rangers held the Bruins to five shots on goal in the second period and none for the final 8:38 of the period.
"I feel like we're skating every game, but I think today and games like this one we're a lot closer to each other, we have a lot more purposeful plays as far as getting in on forecheck," Zibanejad said. "When you're close and you're coming with speed through the neutral zone, it's easier to get the pressure and to be able to carry the puck into the zone as well. All around a really, really good effort today."

Ryan Strome gave New York a 3-0 lead at 8:03 of the third period, with Panarin getting the primary assist.
"Having [Panarin] back does so many things not only on the ice, but just mentally," Rangers coach David Quinn said. "I think our guys certainly hold him in high esteem. He's a well-liked teammate. He's a great teammate. Our guys were dying for him to come back for a lot of reasons, and you put him in our lineup and all of a sudden, we've got a little more swagger. Just proud of our guys."
Buchnevich scored at 16:12 for the 4-0 final.

The Bruins haven't won consecutive games since they won five straight from Feb. 1-12.
"Probably more so a mental lack of focus," Boston defenseman Matt Grzelcyk said. "It's kind of unacceptable. I think we're trying to build a little more consistency in our game and get a winning kind of roll from there. It seems like we're the next night not as sharp as we need to be."
NOTES: It was Kinkaid's eighth NHL shutout in 161 games. … The Rangers were 5-for-5 on the penalty kill and have allowed one power-play goal in 21 chances over their past nine games. … Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk did not play after he was placed on the NHL COVID-19 protocol list prior to the game.