The Boston Bruins established a foundation in the opening 20 minutes of Thursday night’s game against the Rangers. They had a chance to prove they can handle their own against a well-rounded New York bunch.
Instead, Jim Montgomery’s squad suffered self-inflicted wounds against the top team in the Metropolitan Division.
Amid a sea of chaos in front of Rangers goalie Jonathan Quick, an assertive Jake DeBrusk pounced on a loose puck at 8:04 of the opening frame to give the Bruins the early advantage.
Some ill-timed blunders in the second promptly put the Bruins in chase mode.