Miller Scores In 9th Round Of SO, Rangers Beat Bruins 2-1
NEW YORK (AP) — K'Andre Miller scored the deciding goal in the ninth round of a shootout and the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 2-1 on Tuesday night for their third straight win.
Filip Chytil scored the tying goal in the third period to help New York, playing its first game in two weeks, win for the eighth time in 11 games. Igor Shesterkin stopped 31 shots to win for the 10th time in 11 starts and improve to 23-5-2 on the season.
Charlie Coyle scored in the first period for Boston, which has lost six of nine (3-4-2). Jeremy Swayman, coming of a 2-0 win at Ottawa on Saturday night, made 33 saves.
Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin scored on the Rangers' first two attempts of the tiebreaker. Jake DeBrusk scored on Boston's first attempt and Coyle tied it in the third round. Swayman stopped a backhand attempt by Alexis Lafreniere on New York's third attempt to extend it, and another 11 skaters were denied until Miller scored from the left side on his first career shootout attempt.
Shesterkin made a sprawling save on David Pastrnak on a 2-on-1 rush 1:09 into overtime. Boston's Craig Smith ran into the goalie with 2:12 left, drawing an interference penalty. Lafreniere was whistled for roughing for retaliating against Smith.
Swayman denied a breakaway by Panarin with 59 seconds left and Shesterkin had a glove save on Taylor Hall at the other end less than 10 seconds later.
The league's spotters then ordered Shesterkin pulled from the game with 40.5 seconds to go to get checked for a concussion, with the frustrated goalie slamming his stick against the boards as he skated off. Alexandar Georgiev came on but did not face a shot the rest of the period, and Shesterkin returned for the shootout to cheers from the Madison Square Garden crowd.
Chytil tied it 1-all at 6:45 of the third. He got a pass from Dryden Hunt as he crossed the blue line and fired a shot from the right circle that Swayman stopped. However, with the puck laying on the ice on the right side in front of the goalie, Chytil skated in and knocked it in for his fifth of the season and first since Jan. 15. It ended Swayman's shutout streak of 131 minutes, 57 seconds.
With fans still buzzing after the goal, Shesterkin stopped a backhander by Hall on a breakaway at 8:37 to get the crowd roaring again.
Shesterkin stopped a slap shot by Matt Grzelyck with 6:09 left, and then made a stellar right pad save on a deflection by Anton Blidh 45 seconds later.
Shesterkin denied Trent Frederic from the left side with 5 seconds left, and then gloved shot from the left circle by David Pastrnak just before the regulation buzzer to send the game to overtime.
After managing just two shots on goal in the first period, the Rangers picked up their intensity after the intermission, outshooting the Bruins 15-9 in the second.
They had five shots in the first four minutes of the period, with Swayman making a stellar save on Ryan Strome in front in the opening minute. The goalie also denied a backhander by Kevin Rooney at 2:16 and another attempt in close by Greg McKegg 30 seconds later.
Shesterkin made a pair of nice stops late in the middle period. First, he had a save off his chest on Jack Studnicka's shot from center point with 5:09 left, and then denied DeBrusk's attempt on the rebound in front.
Miller had two great chances from the left circle in the closing seconds of the period, but Swayman stopped both shots to keep the Rangers off the scoreboard.
Boston outshot New York 8-2 in a brisk first period that featured only six whistles.
The Bruins got on the scoreboard first, taking advantage of a turnover by Barclay Goodrow in the neutral zone. Shesterkin stopped the initial shot by Smith, but Coyle knocked in the rebound from the right side over the goalie's glove for his 11th.
Ryan Reaves got the Rangers' first shot on goal, a slap shot stopped by Swayman with 7:45 left in the period. The goalie turned aside Adam Fox's attempt from the right circle 41 seconds later.
LINEUPS
The Bruins played without star left wing Brad Marchand and center Patrice Bergeron for the third straight game. Marchand is serving a six-game suspension for high-sticking Penguins goalie Tristan Jarry and Bergeron is out with an upper-body injury. Marchand has 21 goals and 28 assists in 39 games this season, and Bergeron has 12 goals and 23 assists in 43 games.
The Rangers got Fox back off IR after the All-Star defenseman missed their previous three games. The reigning Norris Trophy winner has seven goals and 40 assists in 44 games. Chytil returned after missing the previous five games.
UP NEXT
Bruins: At the New York Islanders on Thursday night in the third of a four-game trip.
Rangers: Host the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night.
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