The Rangers haven't run an offense like they did Thursday night against the Bruins in recent weeks.
It was one of the many aspects that were lacking in their game that saw them fall to the bottom of the Metropolitan Division, but the Rangers look to start 2025 with a 2-1 win at Madison Square Garden. He showed much-needed aggressiveness on the offensive end.
With the win, the Rangers avoided a season-high five-game losing streak and started the new year in the win column.
A loss to the Maple Leafs on Thursday night in Islanders regulation would put the Rangers back in a tie for last place with their neighboring rivals with 35 points.
Jonathan Quick was outstanding in his first home start since Dec. 8, and MSG fans expressed their gratitude for the backup netminder.
With No. 1 goaltender Igor Shesterkin on injured reserve with an upper-body injury, Quick is expected to take on the majority of the workload while the Russian national team will be sidelined for at least seven days.
The 38-year-old goalkeeper displayed the reflexes of a 20-year-old, stopping 32 of 33 shots.
Quick is just one win away from reaching 400 points and becoming the first American-born goaltender to do so.
With the Blueshirts leading 2-0 early in the second period, Quick made three consecutive dynamic saves to keep the Bruins at bay.
He rejected Mark Kastelic's backhand from between the circles, then stepped in front of Justin Brazeau's wrister and gloved John Beecher's follow-up shot.
There was a sound of “QUICK-IE” in the garden.
The Bruins' second goal came at 7:57 when Elias Lindholm buried David Pastrnak's cross-zone feed to cut the Rangers' lead in half.
Quick then made a timely comeback, making a split save from Bruins defenseman Charlie McAvoy to maintain the Rangers' lead.
Even Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman gave quick props for that game as they crossed paths heading to their respective benches.
The Rangers kept the game close until they tied the score with the Bruins in the third period, but they kept the visitors at bay for most of the period with Quick covering the rest of the game.
Boston outscored the Rangers 33-27 that night with 12 shots in the third period, but the Rangers were able to prevent the tying goal.
The Rangers took the lead with a goal that meant more than just staying on the scoreboard.
Chris Kreider intercepted Swayman's clearance attempt and dished to Mika Zibanejad for a crash in the middle of the zone.
Riley Smith picked up the Swedish center's rebound and backhanded it past Swayman, allowing Zibanejad to dive and cross the goal line.
The goal could have gone either way, but Smith quickly motioned for Zibanejad to take the lead in a line of fist pumps in celebration.
It was Zibanejad's first goal since Dec. 11 and his first even-strength goal since Nov. 19.
Skating at a pace not seen in recent memory, the Rangers were able to build a two-goal lead in the first period for the first time since Oct. 22, their sixth game of the season in Montreal.
On a two-on-one rush with Will Quill, Brett Berard took the shot himself and ended up sniping Swayman's top corner of the puck to cut the Rangers' lead to two at the 12:53 mark of the opening frame. He doubled it to make it 2-0.
Berard skated through the zone on one knee in an emotional celebration of his third NHL goal and first in the Garden.
