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Matthew Robertson OT goal caps Rangers’ 4-3 win over Bruins: Takeaways
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- Matthew Robertson OT goal caps Rangers’ 4-3 win over Bruins: Takeaways
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Matthew Robertson's first overtime goal in the NHL was the exclamation point on an exciting 4-3 comeback victory for the New York Rangers over the Boston Bruins on Monday night at Madison Square Garden
Robertson took a chip pass from goaltender Jonathan Quick back in his own end, and went coast-to-coast, picking up speed on his right-wing entry, before bulling to the net and finishing with a forehand beauty at 3:52 of overtime.
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"Honestly, I just blacked out, and smiled … I was super excited," Robertson said postgame.
It was the rookie defenseman's fourth goal of the season, and followed the game-tying goal scored by another unlikely source. Veteran defenseman Will Borgen's third goal of the season tied the game 3-3 at 13:43 of the third period.
The win was the first since Nov. 7 for Quick, who was 0-10-2 in his previous 12 decisions. It was also his 408th victory all-time, moving him past Glenn Hall for 12th most in NHL history . He finished with 21 saves.
It was a feel-good win and a bit of retribution for the Rangers (22-25-6), who were embarrassed 10-2 by the Bruins at TD Garden just 16 days prior to this game. It was just the second win in the past 10 games (2-7-1) for New York, and ended a three-game losing streak.
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"You always owe a team when you let in as many as we did," captain J.T. Miller said after this one.
Miller and Will Cuylle scored New York's other goals in what was just the sixth home-ice win this season for the Rangers.
David Pastrnak had three assists for the Bruins, the last being his 900th point in the NHL. Elias Lindholm scored two goals and Morgan Geekie had the other for Boston, and goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 24 saves.
The Rangers jumped out to a 2-1 lead in the first period, with all three goals scored in a span 2:50. Cuylle opened the scoring at 9:45, deflecting Urho Vaakanainen's shot from the left point past Korpisalo for his 12th goal of the season.
The score remained 1-0 despite prime scoring chances for each team on the next shift. Korpisalo denied Cuylle twice on the doorstep at one end of the ice, and then Boston defenseman Mason Lohrei rang a shot off the post at the other end.
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The Bruins did pull even on Lindholm's first goal of the night at 12:09, though. Pastrnak swung a pass into the middle that deflected off the back-checking Miller, before Lindholm collected the puck and beat Quick one on one with a quick snap shot.
Just 26 seconds later, Miller and the Rangers answered back. New York's captain buried a gorgeous cross-ice feed from Gabe Perreault for his 14th goal at 12:35 to make it 2-1.
Quick made sure that lead carried to the intermission, when he made a huge save with his skate on an Alex Steeves breakaway with just 22 seconds remaining in the period.
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It was a feel-good start and a solid overall period for the struggling Rangers. But they couldn't carry over the good vibes into the second period, when they allowed a pair of goals and landed in a 3-2 hole after 40 minutes of play.
A terrible giveaway by Miller, when he threw a blind pass up the middle of the ice from behind his own goal line, led directly to the game-tying goal by Lindholm. Charlie McAvoy picked off the pass inside the blue line, starting a scrambly sequence in front of Quick's net, that ended with Lindholm scoring his second goal of the game, and 11th of the season, at 3:18.
Three minutes later, with the Rangers already on the power play, McAvoy was whistled for a holding penalty. That gave the Blueshirts 37 seconds worth of a 5-on-3 advantage. They managed one shot on goal, failed to score, then were turned away three more times on the ensuing 5-on-4, and the score remained tied.
But not for long.
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Less than a minute after killing off those consecutive power plays, the Bruins scored once again at even strength to take their first lead of the game at 8:52. Geekie wired a sneaky shot from the left circle that beat Quick short side inside the post to make it 3-2.
Pastrnak earned his third primary assist of the night, and milestone 900th NHL point, with a slick behind-the-back pass to set up Geekie's team-high 29th goal. The Bruins star just missed out on another point at 10:19, when he zipped a shot off the post.
After stacking several good shifts in the offensive zone, the Rangers broke through to tie things up at 13:43 of the third period. Borgen's shot from right wing deflected off the back of Bruins defenseman Andrew Peeke and into the cage. It was a fortunate bounce, as well as the product of hard work being rewarded.
The true reward came when Robertson scored the OT winner on the only shot on goal for either side in the extra period.
Key takeaways after Rangers rally for 4-3 OT win against Bruins
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Big night for the kids
Robertson not only made the play of the game with that OT winner, he logged 22:01, second most among Rangers defensemen behind veteran top-pair stalwart Vladislav Gavrikov (26:23). It wasn't all perfect — he was on ice for two goals-against, as well as two-for — but no doubt was big night for the 24-year-old.
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He wasn't the only kid to shine for the Rangers, and that's a helluva' good sign for a team in the early stages of what general manager Chris Drury says is a "retool."
Perreault had the pretty assist, three shots on goal, and five shot attempts. The 20-year-old also drew a penalty to set up New York's third power play, showed no fear getting to the net, and routinely was engaged in board play, winning more than his share of puck battles. He's improving noticeably by the day and looks the part of a top-six winger.
Perhaps the Rangers most effective line Monday was the third line, centered by rookie Noah Laba, with Cuylle and Brennan Othmann on the wings. That line had an expected goal share of 87.68 percent, per Natural Stat Trick , and was a physical menace all night, with the three youngsters combining for 17 hits, exactly half the Rangers total in the game.
Cuylle scored a goal, and won the face-off to set it up. Laba also assisted on that goal.
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And rookie defenseman Scott Morrow was plus-2, playing a quietly effective 15:51 TOI.
Rempe returns
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Matt Rempe played for the first time since that Jan. 10 disaster up in Boston. He missed six games to nurse his broken thumb, which hadn't completely healed from earlier in the season, but stepped right in Monday to play a smart, effective game.
The towering forward had two excellent scoring chances, each following strong work down below the dots. Twenty seconds after the Bruins tied the game 2-2 early in the second period, Rempe powered to the net, only to be robbed by Korpisalo, who made a sterling pad save. In the third period, with the Rangers down by one, Rempe came out from behind the net and whipped a shot on net that the Bruins goalie also denied.
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Rempe played 12 shifts totaling 8:43 TOI and was credited with two hits. He agitated the Bruins, and also took New York's only penalty of the night, a holding minor at 10:12 of the second period.
It was good to see the big guy back out there.
Carson Soucy traded to Islanders
Carson Soucy was held out of the Rangers lineup Monday due to roster management, amid swirling trade rumors throughout the day. After the game concluded, the Rangers officially announced that the 31-year-old defenseman was traded to the Islanders for a third-round pick in this year's NHL Draft.
The Rangers acquired Soucy from the Vancouver Canucks ahead of the 2025 NHL Trade Deadline in exchange for a third-round draft pick. In essence, they received 62 regular-season games of Soucy spread over two season for a swap of third-round picks.
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Soucy rebounded from a down season in 2024-25 to play pretty well on the second defense pair with Borgen this season. Soucy averaged 17:13 TOI, led the Rangers with an average of 5.00 blocked shots/60, and totaled eight points (three goals, five assists).
The Rangers will likely see Soucy twice this week, when they play a home-and-home set against the Islanders on Wednesday and Thursday.
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