Gaborik, Rangers Squeeze Out Late OT Win

BOSTON -- Tuukka Rask: two U's, two K's and he made two great saves in the closing seconds of OT, Saturday afternoon at the Garden. But two saves wouldn't be enough for Boston as Marian Gaborik snuck one past Rask on the third-attempt for New York, giving them the 3-2 victory with just 3.6 seconds left on the clock.

60 minutes couldn't settle the battle, but 65 was all New York needed. Andrew Ference was given a five minute major in OT after slamming Ryan McDonagh into the boards. McDonagh laid on the ice for a while until he was finally able to skate off under his own power. Due to the incident, Boston had to play the final three minutes of the period with one less player, which essentially cost them the game. Ference explained after the game that he was trying to slow down on that play but he wasn't able to do so quick enough.

Claude Julien defended his defenseman in his post-game conference, saying, "Andew Ference isn't a dirty player. He's one of those guys who supports what the league is trying to do as far as minimizing those injuries."

The B's are definitely earning the reputation of being a "dirty" team this season, but that shouldn't overshadow that they are one of the most talented units in the league, too. Saturday afternoon was a battle throughout as both New York and Boston displayed why they are atop the Eastern Conference. Rangers' goalie Henrik Lundqvist was great, as expected, making 32 saves. Rask also had a solid game in net, stopping 30 shots. However, had he stopped 31 shots, the outcome could have been different.

When asked about the frustrating loss, Rask responded, "What sucks even more is, like, three seconds. Somebody liked it, I guess. I mean, it was a pretty thrilling end. Not for me though."

Thrilling it was indeed.

The contest started with back and forth action throughout the first 20 minutes in which neither team was able to light the lamp. Boston had three of their four power-play advantages in the first period, failing to capitalize on any of them.

Rangers' captain Ryan Callahan opened up the 2nd frame with a quick goal, giving New York the momentous 1-0 lead.

To the Bruins advantage, Shawn Thronton knows all about momentum shifts as he dropped the gloves with Mike Rupp in a heavyweight bout. Not only did the fight get the Boston fans back into the game, it also got the B's back in it as Andrew Ference evened up the score.

Later in the second period both teams exchanged goals again as Garborik and Adam McQuaid scored, respectively.

"Anybody who doesn't think we played well tonight needs to reevaluate how he looks at the game of hockey because it was a great game played by both teams and certainly what this league is looking for," said Julien.

The Bruins have a busy schedule ahead of them before the All-Star break, so they'll need a quick turnaround. When asked how he will move on from the loss, Shawn Thornton replied, "We don't have a choice, right? We get on the plane, go to Philly and forget about it. We got another game in 26 hours, so, focus on Philly now." 

Notes: Dennis Seidenberg played in his 500th career game on Saturday ... Rangers' defenseman Dan Girardi picked up his 100th career assist ... David Krejci assisted Ference's goal and now leads the Bruins with 26 helpers this season.

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