Boston Bruins Fall At Home To New York Rangers
BOSTON (AP) -- Artem Anisimov and Alex Frolov scored off bouncing pucks 25 seconds apart in the first period, Henrik Lundqvist stopped 35 shots, and the New York Rangers held off the Boston Bruins 3-2 on Saturday night.
Marc Staal also scored for the Rangers, who posted their second straight road win.
Zdeno Chara and Nathan Horton had goals for the Bruins, whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
Tuukka Rask, making his first start since a season-opening 5-2 loss to Phoenix in the Czech Republic, made 27 saves.
In a spirited first period, highlighted by three fights, numerous breakouts and hard hits, the Rangers jumped ahead 2-0 on odd goals by Anisimov and Frolov.
Anisimov's power-play goal made it 1-0 at 11:34. He batted the puck with a backhanded swipe over Rask's left shoulder after the puck bounced into the air. The goal held up to a video review when it was determined that Anisimov's stick wasn't above the crossbar when he struck the puck.
Bruins defenseman Dennis Seidenberg attempted to clear the puck in front of his net, but hit Frolov's lower body. The puck bounced over Rask to make it 2-0.
Skating with their second two-man advantage of the first period, the Bruins cut the deficit to 2-1 when Chara fired a slap shot from the right point inside the left post with 5 seconds left.
The Rangers increased their lead to 3-1 when Staal came out of the penalty box and picked up a loose puck near the Bruins' blue line. He skated in on a breakaway and slipped a backhander past Rask 48 seconds into the second.
Horton's goal cut it to 3-2 midway into the period.
The Bruins had few good chances in the third. They pulled Rask with 43 seconds left for an extra skater, but managed just one long shot.
The Rangers, who handed Toronto its first loss of the season on Thursday, were without injured top forwards Marian Gaborik, Vinny Prospal and Chris Drury.
Notes: Rangers LW Brandon Prust was hit in the face by a high stick from Gregory Campbell in the second period, drawing a double minor. ... Horton has at least one point in each of Boston's six games, matching his career high. ... Rangers RW Ryan Callahan earned his 100th career point with a second-period assist. ... Boston D Johnny Boychuk headed straight to the dressing room after getting slashed by Brandon Dubinsky in the first period. He came back for a few shifts later in the period, but missed the rest of the game because of an undisclosed injury. ... Boston had killed 14 consecutive penalties until Anisimov's goal.
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