Bruins lose in OT to Rangers

Steve Conroy, Boston Herald on Jan 26, 2026

Published in Hockey

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The bottom-line mandate for the Boston Bruins Monday night was to grab two points against the worst team in the Eastern Conference. They had the deuce in their grasp and they failed in their mission.

The Blueshirts’ rookie Matthew Robertson beat Joonas Korpisalo with a low wrist shot at 3:53 of overtime, lifting the Rangers to a 4-3 victory at Madison Square Garden.

The B’s got a point but, in the incredibly tight conference standings, these are the squandered second points that could be regretted in April.

The Bruins took a 3-2 lead into the third period, but they sleepwalked into the period and let the mentally wounded Rangers off the mat. The Blueshirts tied it with 6:17 left in regulation. After an extended shift in the B’s end, Will Borgen’s point shot appeared to go off Andrew Peeke and past Korpisalo to tie the game.

In overtime, the Bruins had the better chances but both Hampus Lindholm and Morgan Geekie missed the net on their opportunities.

After being embarrassed by the B’s earlier this month, and with some Ranger legends in the house as part of the Blueshirts’ Centennial celebration, the sputtering New Yorkers figured to be a harder out than they have been lately (2-7-1 in their previous 10).

The B’s also had a big absence from their lineup. Nikita Zadorov, who suffered a leg injury Saturday against Montreal but finished the game.

And with all those factors working against the B’s, the Rangers took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission as the B’s were a little loose in their own zone.

New York took the 1-0 lead on a simple play at 9:45. Will Cuylle beat Pavel Zacha on a draw and headed to the net, where he was able to tip home former Bruin Urho Vaakanainen’s shot.

The B’s, who had their chances, tied the game at 12:09. David Pastrnak, who has been on a heater lately, cruised above the circles, trying to buy time for someone to get open. He spotted Lindholm busting down from the left point and his pass seemed to be intended for him. Instead, it was picked off by Elias Lindholm and the centerman buried his 10th of the year behind Jonathan Quick.

The mantra for the B’s has been to have good shifts after goals for and against, but they did not follow it. The Rangers reclaimed the lead 26 seconds later. Mike Zibanejad banked a pass to Gabe Perreault behind him and Pastrnak was late in closing on the former Boston College star. Perreault was able to zip it across the ice to J.T. Miller and Korpisalo could not make the post-to-post save on Miller’s one-timer.

The B’s had a great chance to knot it with 20 seconds left but Quick stoned Alex Steeves on a breakaway.

There was another scare for the Bruins at the back end late in the period. Charlie McAvoy took a big hit from Cuylle and went down the tunnel at 17:06. His body language was not great as he slammed his stick before departing. But he did return for the second period.

And McAvoy had a hand in the equalizer at 3:18. The B’s had the Rangers hemmed in and McAvoy picked off a pass from Miller out high and pushed it down for Pastrnak. His shot didn’t go but Elias pounced on the rebound and scored his second of the game.

Then came a key sequence. With Henri Jokharju in the box, the B’s thought they would be even when Zibanejad’s stick clipped Peeke. But with the Ranger in the box, it was ruled upon review that it was on a follow-through and Zibanejad was freed.

To make matters worse, McAvoy was then called for holding, giving the Blueshirts a 37-second 5-on-3. But the B’s struggling penalty kill survived the situation with relative ease and, shortly thereafter, took their first lead of the game at 8:52.

On another dominant shift by the top line, Pastrnak made a nice backhand pass to Morgan Geekie (29) in the left circle and Geekie’s shot made it through a maze of players to beat Quick for Pastrnak’s 900th career point.

The B’s had a chance to take a two-goal lead when they got their only power play through the first 40 minutes but, on their best chance, Pastrnak clanged the post.

At the other end, Korpisalo made several big saves to preserve the lead, the biggest one on Zibanejad on a late Ranger PP.

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