BRUINS WIN IN OVERTIME
BRAD MARCHAND scored with 4:20 left in the first overtime and the Bruins beat the New York Rangers last night in Boston, 3-2, in the first playoff game in 40 years between the Original Six teams.
BRAD MARCHAND scored with 4:20 left in the first overtime and the Bruins beat the New York Rangers last night in Boston, 3-2, in the first playoff game in 40 years between the Original Six teams.
Marchand, Boston's top goal scorer in the regular season, got his first of the postseason on a pass from Patrice Bergeron. Marchand had carried the puck up the right side, passed it to Bergeron and kept going toward the net. Bergeron passed across the slot and Marchand tipped it past goalie Henrik Lundqvist from the left side of the crease.
The Bruins carried the play throughout overtime. They applied constant pressure, but couldn't score during a power play when Derek Dorsett was penalized for interference at 2:20 of overtime.
Boston nearly won in regulation, but Johnny Boychuk's shot from the right point clanged off the left post with one-tenth of a second remaining. Then he hit the left post at the other end of the ice at 6:34 of overtime.
Zdeno Chara gave Boston a 1-0 lead at 12:23 of the second before Ryan McDonagh tied it with 1.3 seconds left in the period. Derek Stepan put the Rangers ahead 2-1 just 14 seconds into the third period, and Torey Krug tied it on a power play with his first NHL goal in four career games.
Boston's Jaromir Jagr, a former Ranger, is the only player on either team who had been born the last time the teams met in the playoffs on April 10, 1973.
Noteworthy *
San Jose Sharks forward Raffi Torres was suspended for the rest of the Western Conference semifinal series against Los Angeles for a hit to Kings forward Jarret Stoll's head.
Torres was assessed a minor penalty for charging for the second-period hit Tuesday night in the Kings' 2-0 victory in Game 1. Under the collective bargaining agreement, Torres is considered a repeat offender.
* Alex Ovechkin played the last two games of the Washington Capitals' season with what the team said is a hairline fracture in his left foot.
Ovechkin was hurt during Game 6 of Washington's first-round playoff series against the New York Rangers, a 1-0 loss on Sunday. He also played in a Game 7 loss on Monday.