Recap: Bruins served 5-2 loss to Rangers on defensive breakdowns

The Boston Bruins couldn’t recover from third-period breakdowns and odd-man rushes, and fell 5-2 to the New York Rangers this afternoon at the TD Garden.

“We didn’t play winning hockey at the right time,” Bruce Cassidy said.

Igor Shesterkin made 34 saves in New York’s win, while Jeremy Swayman made 26 saves.

The Bruins started off strong and played a sound offensive game in the first period. Their penalty kill and 5v5 play limited the Rangers to the outside and the majority of their shots off-net.

Coming off two consecutive power plays, the Bruins cranked up their momentum to net the first goal of the game from Craig Smith. But with 5.8 seconds left in the period, Ryan Strome tied the game.

Despite the evening goal, the Bruins dominated offensive-zone coverage in the first 20 minutes, outshooting the Rangers 17-5 with 11 different players registering shots.

The B’s kept a front-of-net presence to start the second period and took the lead 6:51 of minutes in with a goal from Patrice Bergeron at the top of the paint, but the tune of the game changed shortly after.

What the Bruins did right in the first, they faltered with in the second, and particularly midway through that frame. The B’s began to let up on the inside and allowed more shots from the slot and danger areas to get through on Swayman.

Swayman made some huge saves at crucial times in the last half of the second period to keep it a tied game as the Rangers’ offense found their groove, including this impressive paddle save shortly after Dryden Hunt tied the game at 2-2 for the Rangers.

The Rangers outshot the B’s 19-12 in the second period, but outshot the Bruins 13-2 in the last ten minutes of period.

While the contest was mostly back-and-forth throughout 40 minutes and much of the third period, the Rangers capitalized on defensive breakdowns to score three additional unanswered goals.

Two odd-man rushes and poor forechecking allowed Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere to put the Rangers up by two goals, which the Bruins’ couldn’t respond to.

And finally, Jacob Trouba added a 200-foot empty-netter as the icing on the win. Final score: 5-2.

Onto the Vancouver Canucks.

Goals by period:

First period:

The Bruins opened the scoring at 14:46 of the first period.

Craig Smith capitalized on a turnover by Trouba, where in the slot he put a wrister top-shelf over Shesterkin’s blocker. 1-0 Bruins.

The Rangers tied the game late at 19:54 of the first period.

Panarin backhanded Strome a pass in the low slot where he let off a quick shot that traveled past Swayman’s glove on the Rangers’ fifth shot of the game. 1-1 game.

Second period:

The Bruins took the lead at 6:51 of the second period.

At the right point, Brad Marchand hit Matt Grzelcyk with a long pass inside the left-wing circle. Grzelcyk then slid the puck to Bergeron at the top of the paint for a quick tap past Shesterkin’s glove. 2-1 Bruins.

The Rangers evened the game at 12:33 of the second period.

Ryan Lindgren’s rebound came out to Hunt where he put a one-timer past Swayman’s glove. 2-2 game.

Third period:

The Rangers took the lead at 11:35 of the third period.

On the odd-man rush, Julien Gauthier found Panarin at the top of the paint for a quick shot past Swayman’s blocker. 3-2 Rangers.

The Rangers took a two-goal lead at 16:22 of the third period.

Beating Jakub Zboril along the boards, Gauthier put himself and Lafreniere on a 2-on-1 against Charlie McAvoy. Gauthier hit Lafreniere with a pass in the high slot where he put a wrist shot over Swayman’s stick. 4-2 Rangers.

The Rangers cushioned their lead with a lengthy empty-net goal at 19:23 of the third period that Trouba fired off from New York’s goal line. Final score: 5-2 Rangers.

The Bruins are back in action on Sunday at the TD Garden for a 7 pm game against the Canucks.