Henrik Lundqvist battles in front against Brad Marchand. Copyright Getty Images

Hockey finally returned on Super Saturday. Fans rejoiced as our favorite teams and players took the ice and played the sport we love so much. It was a good night for Hasan’s club. Not so much for mine as the Rangers lost to the Bruins 3-1 at TD Garden.

I was just glad they were back playing and celebrated by meeting a friend in the city and taking in the game. Let’s just say it didn’t take long for me to be in rare form. Having caught the first period on ESPN Radio in the car, the new look Blueshirts weren’t sharp. They took early penalties and it put them behind the eight ball against a good team. While all the hoopla surrounds the Rangers and Penguins, who got off to a better start against the Flyers, the Bruins are every bit as tough. They played like it before a packed house, who got to see three goals, two fights and one highlight reel save from Henrik Lundqvist (31 saves), who did his part.

On the game’s opening shift, Carl Hagelin went to the box for interference. The tone was set right there. The Rangers also were forced to kill a needless Brian Boyle double minor with him nabbed for a dubious goalie interference, which he complained about. You can’t do that. He earned an extra two for unsportsmanlike conduct and allowed Boston to control the play. They fired six shots on Lundqvist, who was razor sharp. He couldn’t stop everything. Milan Lucic got to a David Krejci rebound to put Boston up 1-0 with 5:46 left in the first period. On the play, Marc Staal fanned on a clearing attempt. Part of a brutal game in which he was on for all three Bruin goals.

The Rangers continued to take penalties with Brandon Segal sent off for hooking. The Ranger penalty killing unit did what it always does. The trouble was it allowed the Bruins long periods of puck possession. Not surprisingly, they continued to take it to our flat club. They never got any sustained forecheck and barely challenged Tuukka Rask. He finished with 21 saves in his first game as the Boston starter with former two-time Vezina winner Tim Thomas on sabbatical. Ex-Sabre Daniel Paille doubled the Bruin lead when he was able to deflect a Greg Campbell pass just by Lundqvist, who got a piece of it but couldn’t corral it. Staal was again on the ice.

Following the B’s second marker, Rick Nash drew an interference minor on Zdeno Chara. One of two penalties he forced the big Bruins captain to take. On a night many teammates were passengers, Nash showed up. He only registered two shots but both were of the quality variety including a mini-break that earned his new club a five on three. He also created the Rangers lone tally. Using his size and speed, he bulled around Andrew Ference testing Rask, who let out a rebound. Dan Girardi retrieved the puck and dished for Richards, who passed for Nash. But the puck went off a Bruin skate right back to Richards, who fired in his first with Rask expecting a different shot.

Trailing 2-1 with 7:10 left in the middle stanza, the Blueshirts finally had momentum and nearly tied it on the next shift. Marian Gaborik came close. He didn’t look out of place playing the left side with Derek Stepan and Ryan Callahan, who Stepan tried to feed in front. But a strong defensive play by Johnny Boychuk prevented the dangerous scoring opportunity. Boston was strong defensively in front of Rask. A trademark under Claude Julien. Sensing his team was in trouble, the veteran coach sent out enforcer Shawn Thornton who immediately engaged Taylor Pyatt prior to a faceoff. Mike Rupp stepped in for his teammate and battled Thornton in an entertaining scrap where both got in blows. Rupp had the first half but Thornton finished strong getting a take down.

It fired up the crowd. Even at a crowded bar, you can tell how much energy was in that building. Especially when a second fight took place between Stu Bickel and Greg Campbell.

The two scraps swung the momentum in Boston’s favor. They responded with a stronger cycle, keeping our team pinned in while forcing Lundqvist to come up big. If not for him, it could’ve been worse. He made an unbelievable save early in the third, robbing Tyler Seguin of a sure goal. With the Rangers still down one, Seguin was set up perfectly. But Lundqvist dove across and got the puck with his goal stick, catching it in mid-air. The goal judge thought he scored, putting on the light. Instead, it went upstairs with the original call of no goal standing up due to inconclusive evidence. Lundqvist caught the puck very close to the goal line. It was so close that you couldn’t tell. There was no way they could reverse it. A remarkable save by a special athlete.

The Rangers had their best chance when Nash split Bruin defenders and broke in on Rask, who stopped him. Chara took his second penalty, giving them a two-man advantage for over a minute. John Tortorella used his timeout, hoping his power play could come through. A sore spot all last year imitated form again. Even with the addition of Nash, they passed the puck around the perimeter and were too deliberate- failing to get a good look at Rask. By then, I was screaming at the TV while talking with an Islander fan and later a Devil fan and a cute lady friend from Harvard.

It’s just unbelievable how putrid our power play is. Mike Del Zotto continued to not even look shot. Could he at least make it seem like he was a threat. He is way too predictable and it explains why his power play numbers stunk in ’11-12. A good power play is instinctive. Hopefully, it’ll show improvement. They only have 47 more games with the Pens coming to MSG tonight.

After blowing it, the Bruins put it away. Patrice Bergeron won an offensive draw from Richards and then cut to the net and neatly deflected home a Boychuk shot from the right point. Just a simple play that illustrated how much better they were. They did the little things and earned the win. Fittingly, our team took two more lazy penalties to conclude a bitter night. They should burn the tape.

Editor’s Note: For some reason, they credited the goal to Boychuk. It looked like Bergeron tipped it. Maybe they’ll change it tomorrow.

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Rick Nash, NYR (assist-1st point as a Ranger, 2 penalties drawn, 2 SOG)
2nd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (31 saves)
1st Star-Patrice Bergeron, Bos (assist, won 12 of 17 draws)