BOSTON — Rangers Take a Hard Hit After Winter Classic Win

The Rangers hoped that their victory in the Winter Classic would propel them forward. Instead, it seems to have launched them into a significant setback.

On Saturday afternoon, the Rangers faced a disheartening 10-2 defeat to the Bruins, which set a new low for their 2025-26 season. Conceding ten goals not only marked their worst performance but also highlighted just how fragile the Rangers’ season has become.

This was the second straight game without their top goaltender, Igor Shesterkin, and star defenseman, Adam Fox.

To make matters worse, the Rangers have managed only two regulation wins in their last 17 games.

Scoring issues and inconsistency were already troublesome. Now, missing two key players, the Rangers’ defense crumbled, losing the solid structure that had developed under first-year coach Mike Sullivan.

After a solid performance following an outdoor win on January 2, the Rangers were riding a wave of optimism before dropping three straight games.

Meanwhile, TD Garden’s atmosphere lit up with Miley Cyrus’ “We Can’t Stop,” as the game unfolded with more than half the seasons’ matches remaining.

Pavel Zacha stole the show, scoring four goals, while Marat Husnutdinov contributed with a hat trick, not to mention David Pastrnak’s five assists. The game quickly spiraled out of control, leaving the Rangers to watch helplessly as Boston racked up the goals.

Meanwhile, the Rangers’ stars, Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin, have started to find some rhythm lately.

But, as is often the case, the rest of the team didn’t pull their weight where it counted. Zibanejad managed to convert a nice backhand feed from Panarin for an early lead, but then the Bruins went on to score six unanswered goals, including three in rapid succession to finish off the first period. Just a minute and a few seconds in, Husnutdinov tied the score.

The Rangers’ defense faced more challenges, as Braden Schneider barely saved the Bruins from escalating the score to 3-1 in the closing seconds of the first period, but the referee, after reviewing the play, declared it a goal.

Captain JT Miller, attempting to return after a seven-game absence due to an upper-body injury, managed to score on the power play, briefly halting the Bruins’ momentum. Yet, the atmosphere felt deflated after the fourth goal.

Following the sixth goal, goaltender Jonathan Quick was replaced by Spencer Martin, only for the Bruins to add three more in the third period. The stats were certainly padded, but the Rangers found it hard to make any comeback.

As the clock wound down, voices filled TD Garden, excitedly chanting, “I want 10!” The Bruins did not disappoint their fans as they finally broke into double digits.