Rangers Top Bruins for Fourth Straight Win

The Rangers extended its winning streak to four games behind a pair of shorthanded goals in a 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins at TD Garden Saturday night.
Derek Stepan and Kevin Hayes both scored shorthanded and Pavel Buchnevich scored his first NHL goal. Nick Holden scored his first goal as a Ranger and Stepan added two assists.

Goaltender Antti Raanta turned aside 35 saves to improve to 3-0 this season.
"I think we took advantage of some opportuities," Stepan said after the game. "I think it's a good win overall but I think we were opportunistic all night and Raants stood in there and made some saves for us. You find a way to get a win and you never complain about those."
After falling behind early in the first period, the Rangers would score two goals in less than three minutes before the first period ended. Holden got the ball rolling with a wrist shot from the point had eyes and beat goaltender Tuukka Rask to tie the game at 15:09.
Stepan followed it up with his first goal of the season and the team's first shorthanded tally of the young campaign at 17:59 that put the Rangers up for good. Stepan broke in on a 2-on-1 and attempted a deke but lost the handle on the puck, which then bounced off his leg and into the cage.

"Absolutely," Stepan said when asked whether not scoring was weighing on him. "You always want to try and contribute and score goals. We were finding ways to win and we had good balance in our lineups. It did help but it's always best to get the first one and kind of relax yourself a little bit."
The Rangers are now 5-1 when allowing the first goal of the game.
Hayes would put the Blueshirts up 3-1 with a shorthanded goal of his own at 2:18 of the second period when he converted on an odd-man rush with a shot between Rask's legs. The goal is Hayes' third in three games, tying his career-best goal streak while also extending his overall point streak to four games, during which he has three goals and five assists.
Saturday marked the first time the team has tallied two shorthanded goals in one contest since Mar. 30, 2014 at Edmonton.

Buchnevich would notch his first career goal on the power play in the third period when he fired a wrist shot from the circle over Rask's shoulder that made it 4-1.
"It's my dream," Buchnevich said of the goal, who called his dad after the game. "It's so great.
Michael Grabner scored his seventh of the season late in the third period on a breakaway.
Raanta was solid throughout and continued to make the most of his opportunities when given the chance to spell Henrik Lundqvist of some starts.
"It's a tough place to play," Raanta said of Boston. "They got an early goal so you always have to be a little bit on your toes after that. After that I started to make saves and the good feelings came from there. Guys were doing a great job blocking the shots and helping me a lot."
Patrice Bergeron and David Pastrnak each scored for the Bruins.
The Rangers return home tomorrow night against the Winnipeg Jets at Madison Square Garden.