NHL Scores: Rangers romp Bruins, Wild stop Kings streak, and Avalanche edge Coyotes
Anthony Scultore
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What is going on with the Bruins? Last night they limped into Madison Square Garden fresh off a 7-2 drubbing by the Islanders only to get pounded again by the Rangers 6-2.
NHL Scores: Rangers have a Garden Party against Bruins
The Rangers (7-8-3) seemed to have an extra hop in their step with around 1800 fans at Madison Square Garden. They played inspired hockey while the Bruins (11-5-2) were looking more to pick fights then play any defense.
New York opened the scoring with a beautiful individual effort by Julien Gauthier whose shot deflected off Phil Di Giuseppe’s screen in front. The Blueshirts saw six different goal scorers in this game and were led by Ryan Strome who picked up three points (1G, 2A).
“We definitely got a bit of a spark, there’s no doubt,” Strome said about the fans return to MSG. “Standing there during the national anthem I had some goose bumps and some energy that I haven’t felt in a long time.”
Chris Kreider remained red-hot for the Rangers with Artemi Panarin out and picked up his 9th goal of the season. He currently has five goals in his last three games. Number one overall pick Alexis Lafreniere played his best game of the season and got the first assist of his career finding Ryan Strome in the second period. A thorough effort by the Rangers.
Brad Marchand scored career goal 300 in the loss. The Bruins will look to regroup Sunday against the Blueshirts in a nationally televised contest at Noon et.
NHL Scores: Wild end Kings winning streak
The Kings (9-7-3) were riding a six game winning streak before the Wild (11-6) put a stop to it with a 3-1 win. Kirill Kaprizov who is the favorite to capture the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year opened the scoring with an incredible display of power and skill. It was his fifth of the season to go with his 16 points in 17 games.
“His separation from people is clearly special,” Wild coach Dean Evason said of Kaprizov’s spectacular goal. “Combine that with his attitude, his team-first mentality, it’s exciting for us as an organization.”
While L.A.’s streak ended, Minnesota’s win streak is now at five games. These two teams will be back at it tonight at 8 pm et.
NHL Scores: Avalanche get back in the win column
The Avalanche (10-6-1) have been exchanging wins and losses for the month of February. Last night they defeated the Coyotes (9-8-3) by a score of 3-2. Mikko Rantanen scored his 8th of the year to get the Avs scoring going on the power play.
Arizona would mount another third period comeback but fell short in their rally. Phil Kessel is having a fine season and notched his 8th of the year. The Avs were led by Nazim Kadri with three points on the evening (1G, 2A).
“I think we earned the win with the way we played, we were the better team,” Rantanen said afterwards. “We didn’t give up a lot until the last two minutes.”