The Boston Bruins delivered a performance for the ages on Saturday afternoon, overwhelming the New York Rangers 10-2 at TD Garden in a game that will be remembered for its offensive fireworks, historic milestones, and a dash of old-school hockey drama. For a team that has struggled to find consistency this season, the Bruins seemed to flip a switch, treating their home fans to a display that echoed the glory days of the franchise and injected fresh hope into their playoff ambitions.
Heading into the matchup, the Bruins were acutely aware of their afternoon game woes—especially after suffering a lopsided 6-2 defeat to these same Rangers the day after Thanksgiving. With the Eastern Conference playoff race tightening and every point at a premium, Boston knew they could ill afford another letdown. Instead, they responded with their most dominant showing of the season, pouring in seven goals in the first 40 minutes and never looking back.
The tone was set early, but it was the bizarre end of the first period that truly signaled this would be no ordinary game. With the Bruins up 2-1 and pressing on a two-man advantage, Pavel Zacha fired a shot that appeared to be swept off the goal line by a Rangers defender. The horn sounded, and both teams headed for the locker room. But hold on—after a review by the NHL situation room in Toronto, it was determined the puck had indeed crossed the line with 33 seconds left. Players were summoned back to the ice to complete the period, and Boston suddenly held a 3-1 lead. As Bruins coach Marco Sturm later remarked, "That’s why we have two video coaches. They caught it right away. The play was still going on and we knew it was already in the net. That’s why we all stayed [on the bench]."
If that set the stage for a wild afternoon, the second and third periods were a full-blown party. Pavel Zacha, playing his 672nd NHL game, finally recorded his first career hat trick. His goals came in all fashions: a slick move past a fallen defenseman for his first, a power-play tally confirmed after review for his second, and a long-range strike late in the second period to complete the trifecta. Zacha’s long-awaited milestone was almost overshadowed by the exploits of rookie Marat Khusnutdinov, who not only netted his first career hat trick but added a fourth goal late in the third, capping a plus-6 performance that left the crowd in awe.
"Pav came in and I said, ‘Imagine getting a hat trick and being third star?’" joked teammate Mark Kastelic, referencing Khusnutdinov’s four-goal outburst that earned him first-star honors. The offensive explosion didn’t stop there. Fraser Minten scored twice for the second consecutive Saturday, and Charlie McAvoy—once a die-hard Rangers fan growing up on Long Island—added a goal of his own against his childhood team.
But perhaps the most dazzling performance came from David Pastrnak, who orchestrated the Bruins’ attack with a franchise-record-tying six assists. Pastrnak, one of the league’s elite scorers, seemed to relish his playmaker role. "I for sure had six apples," he laughed postgame, referencing his childhood days in Czechia. "Because growing up, I was not scoring many goals. Growing up, I had the same two linemates, we always played together, and the goal scorer was a different guy. I for sure had six apples, but … maybe I am totally wrong and I was nowhere near six, but…" Regardless of his memory, Pastrnak’s six helpers put him in rare company alongside Bruins legends Bobby Orr and Ken Hodge.
The Rangers, meanwhile, found themselves on the wrong end of a historic beatdown. Missing star goalie Igor Shesterkin and top defenseman Adam Fox, New York simply couldn’t keep pace with Boston’s relentless puck pressure and depth scoring. Mika Zibanejad notched the opening goal for the Rangers, but it was all downhill from there, as the Bruins swarmed the net and capitalized on nearly every opportunity.
Jeremy Swayman, Boston’s netminder, may have given up the first goal but rebounded to stop 27 shots—including a penalty shot from Vincent Trocheck—to earn his 17th win of the season. Swayman’s steady presence allowed the Bruins to play with confidence, and his teammates responded in kind.
Physicality wasn’t in short supply either. Mark Kastelic squared off with the Rangers’ Sam Carrick in a spirited second-period fight, drawing cheers from the TD Garden faithful. "We just have a lot of guys who can step up on any given night, we’ve got a lot of team chemistry and we want to keep it going," Kastelic said. The Bruins' white sweaters, reminiscent of the 1980s, seemed to channel the spirit of those legendary teams, as the crowd reveled in every goal, hit, and hat thrown onto the ice.
Not everything went Boston’s way, however. Morgan Geekie departed after the first period due to a family emergency, while veteran center Elias Lindholm exited late in the second with a lower-body injury. Coach Sturm downplayed concerns, noting that both could be game-time decisions for Sunday’s contest against the Pittsburgh Penguins. "Geeks had a family emergency," said Sturm. "So he had to leave. But it’s all good, it’s all good. We have to watch him to see if he comes back tomorrow—game-time decision." On Lindholm, Sturm added, "Probably will be a game-time decision [Sunday]."
Saturday’s rout also carried historical significance. It marked the first time since 1964 that two Bruins players recorded hat tricks in the same game and the first time ever at TD Garden. The ten-goal outburst was Boston’s highest of the season and a much-needed shot of confidence after a tough stretch before the Christmas break. As Sturm put it, "It’s always a tricky one, but I think the guys should enjoy today—they played a hell of a hockey game. Forget about how high we scored, but we played really, really good. So they should feel really good about it and I think they know it, too. We’ll address it again [Sunday]. We’ve got to push some buttons right away, early on, and make sure we forget about today… the guys should go home and have a glass [insert beverage of choice] because it was a good day for us."
With the win, Boston inches closer to a wild card spot, and with another test looming against Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins on Sunday evening, the Bruins will need to quickly shift their focus. The scoreboard may reset to 0-0, but the memories of this historic afternoon will linger a bit longer on Causeway Street.