The Boston Bruins and New York Rangers both entered Sunday’s contest with a chance to lock up their division with a victory. The Rangers kept the game close, but Tim Thomas turned aside 33 shots in Boston’s 2-1 win.
Marian Gaborik struck first, scoring his 40th goal of the season on a breakaway. After a disappointing 2010-11 campaign, he’s been one of the NHL’s biggest comeback players. Unfortunately for the Rangers, his efforts proved to be moot as the Bruins’ struck back in the second period.
Dennis Seidenberg and Patrice Bergeron both managed to beat Rangers’ netminder Henrik Lundqvist. Zdeno Chara registered his 40th assist of the season and extended his point streak to five games.
It was all Rangers in the third period, but the Bruins and Thomas managed to shut the door. The Rangers had some good chances, but Thomas made some impressive saves. With roughly two minutes left in the third, Thomas lost his stick and fell out of position, but Thomas managed to scramble back and make a glove save on Ryan Callahan’s shot.
Boston is now locked into the second seed and will probably end up playing the Ottawa Senators in the first round. Despite this loss, the New York Rangers will still almost certainly end up with the first seed and play either the Washington Capitals or Buffalo Sabres in the playoffs. You can watch some further analysis below.