Pirri knots 2 as Rangers roll over Bruins
NEW YORK - Brandon Pirri scored twice to help the New York Rangers beat the Boston Bruins 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Rick Nash, Kevin Hayes and Jimmy Vesey also scored for New York, and Henrik Lundqvist stopped 27 shots. The Rangers won their third straight game, overcoming a 2-0 deficit to improve to 5-2-0.
David Pastrnak and Austin Czarnik scored for Boston. The Bruins have lost three straight to drop to 3-4-0.
Zane McIntyre made 26 saves in his first NHL start. He was called up prior to Boston's 5-0 home loss to Minnesota on Tuesday night to back up Malcolm Subban due to injuries to Tuukka Rask and Anton Khudobin.
Down 2-0 after the first, the Rangers scored three times in the final 10:44 of the second.
Nash began the comeback with a power-play goal at 9:16. He curled to the net before corralling a rebound of Derek Stepan's point shot and flipping it over goalie Zane McIntyre for his third of the season.
Hayes tied it with 3:25 left in the second, banking a shot from behind the net off of McIntyre's pants.
Pirri's power-play goal with 36 seconds left made it 3-2. The free-agent signee ripped a shot from the right circle that was in the net before McIntrye could get his glove up. New York finished the game 2 for 6 on the man advantage, while the Bruins were 0 for 1.
It was not all positive for the Rangers in the second, with Dan Girardi missing two shifts following a hit from Pastrnak, who was assessed a minor penalty for an illegal check to the head. Girardi leaped in the air to play a loose puck in the neutral zone and, as he came down, Pastrnak drove his shoulder into the upper body of the New York defenseman.
Pirri made it 4-2 2:23 into the third with his fourth of the season. Vesey scored on a tap-in 43 seconds late.
The Bruins opened the scoring Pastrnak's fifth of the season 10 seconds into the game. The lead grew to 2-0 14:34 later when Czarnik scored his first goal in the NHL. Czarnik fired a shot from inside the blue line that New York defenseman Brady Skjei blocked, but Henrik Lundqvist appeared to lose track of the puck and it bounced across the goal line.
Lundqvist had 27 saves.
NOTES: Prior to the game, the Bruins announced Czarnik had been called up from Providence of the AHL. Czarnik had a goal and two assists in two games with Providence this season. Czarnik, 23, did play in two NHL games earlier this season with the Bruins. ... Boston also announced RW David Backes had his olecranon bursa removed from his elbow on Monday. The Bruins also scratched D Joe Morrow and C Danton Heinen. ... New York LW Chris Kreider missed his second straight game with neck spasms. ... The Rangers scratched D Adam Clendening and D Dylan McIlrath. ... New York lost fourth-line RW Josh Jooris for the game with what the team called an ''upper-body injury.''
UP NEXT:
BRUINS: Play at Detroit Saturday night.
RANGERS: Play at Carolina Friday night.