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BOSTON – Chris Kreider scored his 14th team-leading goal, Artemi Panarin got an assist in his first game since leaving the team and the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 4-0 Saturday to end a three-game losing streak.
Panarin quit on February 22 after a Russian tabloid published allegations by a former coach that he attacked a woman in Latvia almost ten years ago, which Panarin denies. His return has clearly provided a lift to New York.
“You put him in the lineup and it looks like we’ve got more bluster,” Rangers coach David Quinn said.
The Rangers went 4-5 during his absence. Consistency has been a struggle for the Rangers this season, with and without Panarin, and even with him back in the lineup, the playoffs could be a reach. Boston now holds fourth place in the East, with 32 points, and has a game underway against the Rangers, who are seven points away.
But they looked good on Saturday. Keith Kinkaid stopped 18 shots in his first shutout since 2018. Ryan Strome, Pavel Buchnevich and K’Andre Miller each scored a goal for New York, which lost 4-0 to Boston on Thursday. Mika Zibanejad added two assists and Kreider had one.
“It was really a huge boost to get him back,” Zibanejad said of Panarin. “Not just for the game but for the locker room.”
Jaroslav Halak made 29 saves for the Bruins, who have lost eight of their last 12 games.
“You see a game like that and it’s, ‘Are we tired or are we out of shape? Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. “At the end of the day I think there are a number of things. But this is unacceptable – the effort must be there every day. The most disappointing thing today is the effort. “
Rangers called Panarin’s story fabricated and designed to intimidate him for his political views against Russian President Vladimir Putin. His former Continental Hockey League coach Andrei Nazarov said he was motivated to speak out about the alleged incident because he disagreed with Panarin’s criticism of the Russian government .
Playing in his fourth game this season alone, Kinkaid, 31, was barely tested as the Rangers managed to hit most loose pucks, limiting the Bruins’ break-ins and their ability to control the puck in the offensive zone.
At the end, a Rangers player could be heard shouting, “It’s a boy, Keith!”
Called back by the taxi team on March 6 when Igor Shesterkin was injured, Kinkaid played relief on Thursday, stopping all 13 shots. On Saturday, he saw only 11 on goal in the first two periods.
“I’m just happy to be able to play NHL games again to prove myself,” he said with a smile.
Boston forward Jake DeBrusk, who scored a goal Thursday after being benched and called up for his game this season by Cassidy, missed the game because he was in COVID-19 protocol.
After a lackluster effort as they were decidedly outscored on Thursday, the Rangers were ready from the start, hitting the Bruins early and controlling most of the first two periods.
“We have to find a way to put two of these games together,” Zibanejad said.
Miller’s right-point wringer ricocheted into the net at the far post, taking him to 1-0 with just 3 minutes and 6 seconds left.
“I think we couldn’t hold our game straight away,” said Boston forward Nick Ritchie. “We couldn’t tilt the ice. It was a long game.”
Kreider’s goal made it 2-0 in the second half when he provided a unique Zibanejad pass from the right corner after the puck slipped into the lunge just past the stick of Jarred Tinordi’s attempted dive to block it.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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