Bruins-Rangers: Boston Takes First Place in East

In a possible Playoff preview, the Boston Bruins (51-17-10) beat the New York Rangers (40-30-9), 1-0, in Boston.

The Bruins scored on their first shot on net, when Blake Wheeler surprised Henrik Lundqvist nine minutes into the first period with a long shot that came off like a knuckleball.

That turned out to be the game winner, as it was the only goal of the game.

The Bruins' goalie, Tim Thomas, earned the shutout by making several big saves; he also got into a fight with Sean Avery.

Zdeno Chara took Sean Avery into the end boards with a high hit and got a penalty for it. Midway through the second period, Nik Antropov was clipped at center ice by Milan Lucic of the Bruins.

Lucic caught Antropov with a knee-to-knee hit, according to Jim Cerny of newyorkrangers.com. Antropov headed to the dressing room and did not return.

Then, toward the end of the game, Avery hit Thomas on the helmet during a stoppage in play. According to AP, Thomas chased Avery to center ice, but Avery kept skating with his back to the goalie.

Thomas pushed Avery and was hit from behind by New York's Frederik Sjostrom. Thomas turned and swung at Sjostrom.

Thomas punched Sjotstrom in the face with his blocker, according to the announcer. Avery and Thomas got penalties for roughing.

This is the way AP described it: "Avery hit Thomas as the goalie was stretching in front of his net during a television timeout with 5:24 left. Thomas chased Avery to center ice as Avery kept skating with his back to the goalie. Thomas pushed Avery then was hit from behind by New York's Frederik Sjostrom. Thomas turned and swung at Sjostrom before officials separated players. Avery and Thomas received minor penalties."

The way it was described in The New York Times was just about the same:
Avery skated past a kneeling Thomas and clipped him in the back of the head with his stick blade. Thomas got up and pursued Avery to center ice, then threw punches at Fredrik Sjostrom when Sjostrom intervened, according to Jeff Z. Klein writing in the New York Times.  Avery did not speak to reporters after the game, but Rangers coach John Tortorella said, “Sean deserved a penalty, and so did Tim.”

Boston is now second in points in the NHL, behind the San Jose Sharks and ahead of the Detroit Red Wings.

The Rangers remain in 13th place with 89 points. They're between the Montreal Canadiens and Columbus Blue Jackets.

Boston is No. 1 in the Eastern Conference, while New York is eighth, clinging to the last postseason spot. With this victory, the Bruins extended their winning streak to six games.

Over the season, Boston has scored 79 more goals than they have surrendered for the best goal differential in the league. They have given up 181 goals, which is the lowest of any team in the NHL.

New York’s road to the playoffs will be challenging as they host a hot Montreal team and then complete the season with a home-and-home series against Philadelphia.