Bruins score six in victory against Rangers

NEW YORK --The Boston Bruins moved within one point of first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference with a 6-1 win against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice, and Riley Nash, Zdeno Chara, Tim Schaller and Sean Kuraly scored for the Bruins (33-11-8), who have won four in a row and nine of 10 to gain on the division- and conference-leading Tampa Bay Lightning. David Pastrnak extended his point streak to 10 games, and Anton Khudobin made 21 saves.

"We're trying to win every game that's on the schedule in front of us," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "If we catch them, great. If not, if they play great, that's the way it goes. We obviously pay attention to it but it's not our main focus. If you ask our group, I think the guys just want to play from period to period."
WATCH: [All Bruins vs. Rangers highlights]
Rick Nash scored for the Rangers (25-24-5), who lost their fourth straight and are 4-11-0 since Jan. 3. They trail the Columbus Blue Jackets by three points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"It's been brutal, no question about it," New York captain Ryan McDonagh said. "With everything going on with the team we need to stay focused on trying to put together somewhat of a complete game. We're not getting close."
Nash gave the Rangers a 1-0 lead at 5:00 the first period when he stole the puck from Chara, skated into the Bruins zone and beat Khudobin for his 16th goal. It was NHL point No. 797 for Nash, who on Monday gave the Rangers his list of teams he can't be traded to without his permission.

The Bruins countered with six goals, beginning with Riley Nash's eighth at 7:54 to make it 1-1. They took a 2-1 lead when Jake DeBrusk stole the puck from Steven Kampfer and found Chara at the point, and the defenseman beat Henrik Lundqvist with a wrist shot at 16:09.
"The first period was a pretty even one," Chara said. "We got a lucky bounce to score early and then we tied the game. I think after that, Anton made some really big saves for us. After that, we started moving the puck much better and establishing the forecheck."
Bergeron made it 3-1 at 3:47 of the second period when his shot deflected off Nick Holden's stick and between Lundqvist's legs.

Schaller's eighth goal made it 4-1 at 7:25 and chased Lundqvist, who was replaced by Ondrej Pavelec. Lundqvist had won six straight starts against the Bruins (two this season) but has allowed eight goals in his past two home games. It was the third time in five starts Lundqvist was pulled.
"Disappointing, frustrating and embarrassing," Lundqvist said. "Me personally, I think I started the game the way I want, aggressive, and then we make a couple mistakes and it cost us. I think the way things have been going lately it takes me from being the way I want to be, on my toes, aggressive, to being a little passive in the second, late to react when [Bergeron] misfired that third shot, and just passive on the fourth goal.
"For me personally, I think it's obviously just a mental thing right now. It's not technical."
Bergeron scored his second, a shorthanded goal, at 10:00 to make it 5-1. Brad Marchand earned the primary assist in his return from a five-game suspension for elbowing New Jersey Devils forward Marcus Johansson on Jan. 23.
Kuraly scored at 6:34 of the third period to make it 6-1.

Goal of the game

Bergeron's goal at 10:00 of the second period.

Save of the game

Khudobin's save against Mats Zuccarello at 13:23 of the first period.

Highlight of the game

Schaller's goal at 7:25 of the second period.

They said it

"We want to keep pushing ourselves to be better and bring our best, and the rest will take care of itself. We look at the standings but it's not the most important thing. We want to worry about the way we play and how we play." -- Bruins captain Zdeno Chara
"Where do we look? I mean, it's only up to the guys here in the room and the coaching staff. It's frustrating for sure, but we're the ones that have to go out there and play and represent this team and try to focus on winning one hockey game." -- Rangers captain Ryan McDonagh

Need to know

Pastrnak's point streak (12 points; four goals, eight assists) is his second longest this season behind an NHL career-high 12 (13 points; five goals, eight assists) ‪from Nov. 22-Dec. 18. … New York won its previous seven games against Boston since Jan. 11, 2016. … Nash is tied for third in the NHL with seven goals since Jan. 16. … The Bruins are 51-19-9 under Cassidy in his first calendar year as coach.

What's next

Bruins: Host the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; NESN, MSG-B, NHL.TV)
Rangers:Host the Calgary Flames on Friday (7 p.m. ET; MSG, SNW, NHL.TV)