BOSTON – Tyler Bertuzzi set up a goal in his Boston debut and Linus Ullmark made 24 saves, helping the NHL-leading Bruins beat Patrick Kane and the New York Rangers 4-2 on Saturday.
Charlie Coyle scored off Bertuzzi’s feed and set up Tomas Nosek’s short-handed goal in Boston's 10th straight win. The Bruins improved 26-2-3 at home and increased their total for the season to 103 points.
Recommended Videos
“For us, it's the Stanley Cup. That's all that matters,” Ullmark said of the Bruins' shot at an NHL record for total points. “Records are meant to be broken, but once you have the hardware it can never be taken away from you.”
Boston stars David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron each scored in the third period. It was Pastrnak’s 44th on the season, and No. 23 for Bergeron.
Playing his first game since posting a club-record 54 saves in an overtime win at Calgary on Tuesday, Ullmark increased his record to 32-4-1.
Alexis Lafreniere scored both goals for New York, and Igor Shesterkin stopped 20 shots. The Rangers have lost six of eight.
“They've got a great squad and they acquired some great players,” New York defenseman Braden Schneider said. “They're at the top of the league right now and that's where we want to be. I think we can skate with them and we can play with them and I think we gave them a good run tonight. I'm excited for us to get clicking. ... I think we can give them a good run for the money.”
Kane, acquired in a trade with Chicago on Tuesday, is scoreless in two games with the Rangers.
Boston forward Brad Marchand returned to the lineup after missing the last half of Thursday’s victory with a lower-body injury.
After becoming the fastest team in NHL history to reach 100 points in their last game, the Bruins completed a three-game season sweep of the Rangers.
Acquired in a trade with Detroit on Thursday, Bertuzzi collected the puck behind the net and sent it out to Coyle, who one-timed it past Shesterkin to make it 1-0 at 18:07 of the opening period. The new Bruins forward raised his stick and pointed at Coyle after collecting his first point with the club.
“It was good to kind of get my feet wet and hear the crowd, celebrate with the guys and be in the mix a little bit,” said Bertuzzi, who admitted he was nervous before the game.
Coyle centered a pass to a cutting Nosek, who shifted quickly at the edge of the crease before tucking the puck into the net just past Shesterkin’s left skate 30 seconds into the second.
“We just find a way with this group,” Coyle said. “There's no sense of panic. ... If things aren't working, we play a simple style and play the right way and usually that works out for us.”
The lively matchup — with fans breaking out in chants for each team — featured two teams that bolstered their rosters for the postseason before Friday's trade deadline.
New York picked up three-time Stanley Cup champion Kane from Chicago and four-time All-Star Vladimir Tarasenko from St. Louis, while Boston also got defenseman Dmitry Orlov and forward Garnet Hathaway from Washington before reeling in Bertuzzi, who scored 30 goals last season.
NEXT VEZINA WINNER?
Shesterkin was last season’s Vezina Trophy winner, and Ullmark is the favorite to win it this year.
UP NEXT
Rangers: At Montreal on Thursday.
Bruins: Host NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday.
___
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/nhl and https://twitter.com/AP_Sports