Chris Kreider returned to the Rangers Thursday night, which was fortuitous timing, as the Blueshirts hosted the Boston Bruins. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough to top the league’s best team.
The Bruins struck early, when Pavel Zacha redirected a rare David Kreji slapper up and over the shoulder of Igor Shesterkin. While it’s hard to blame Shesterkin for not getting to the deflection, his misguided attempt to clear the zone led to the shot attempt. The Rangers responded with a solid three minutes of offensive zone time, but eventually Kreider and Adam Fox took penalties within 20 seconds of each other to put Boston on a five-on-three for a minute forty-two.