Overtime is the most exciting playoff hockey. Heroes are born. So are chokers. As hard as it is to admit, the Rangers are chokers. When they reach sudden death, it should just be called death because they can’t handle the pressure. There aren’t any other rational explanations. They saw their collective shadow and lost the opening game to the Bruins 3-2 in death. Brad Marchand’s goal at 15:40 of overtime gave Boston the series lead. 

He finished off a Patrice Bergeron pass off a two-on-one beating defeated goalie Henrik Lundqvist. Lundqvist’s OT record fell to a head scratching 3-11. All it took was one Bruin shot to deal him his third consecutive loss in extras. Is it mental? Not so much for our goalie but for the rest of his team, yes. No one can say otherwise. As Bill Parcells says, you are what your record is. For whatever reason, the Rangers have lost 11 of 14 postseason games in OT since Hank took over in ’06. It’s gotten so bad that I don’t think I can watch another game if it requires a fourth period. Much like last week’s Game Five OT defeat, I left the house immediately and went for a long walk. At least they didn’t get screwed like San Jose.

They weren’t awful in Game One. It was a case of the Bruins raising their level when it mattered most. Neither team scored in a ho hum first. It’s a meat and potatoes series. Both old rivals are physical and tough defensively. Boston got it done with three rookie defensemen. They made life difficult on Lundqvist, who had to fight through traffic for most of his 45 saves. The Rangers were out-shot 16-5 in OT. It took a perfect play for the Bruins to finally win. The crazy part is Hank wasn’t at his best, allowing a Zdeno Chara knuckler to get through him and a Torey Krug shot to go off him. 

The Rangers didn’t play their best game but had a chance to steal home ice. They dug out of a 1-0 hole   in bizarre fashion. With time winding down in the second period, Rick Nash drove around the net and made a back pass for Ryan McDonagh, who teed it up. His one-timer beat Tuukka Rask with 1.3 seconds left. Nash had an active game registering a team high six shots and holding onto the puck to make plays. He was matched up against Chara, who made his impact felt by scoring a goal and setting up Marchand’s winner. The Boston captain logged over 38 minutes. Despite that, it was his defensive play on a Derick Brassard pass that forced a turnover- allowing the Bruins to go the other way and end the night. 

After being held without a goal for nearly two periods, the Rangers beat Rask on two consecutive shots in a 15 second span. They followed up McDonagh’s first by stunning TD Garden on the first shift of the third. Off a neutral zone turnover, Ryan Callahan sent Carl Hagelin down the right side. He centered for Derek Stepan, who buried his third to give them a 2-1 lead. It didn’t last. An obvious holding minor on Steve Eminger resulted in the Bruins tying it on Krug’s first career postseason goal. Having killed almost all of it, they allowed the B’s second power play unit to set up. Marchand recovered a loose puck and fed Dougie Hamilton, who passed for Krug, whose shot went off Lundqvist and in. It took Boston 2:41 to respond. 

The Rangers had three power plays including one late in regulation when Patrice Bergeron was nabbed for a hook. They were unable to cash in with John Moore taking an interference penalty that gave the Bruins a man-advantage with under two minutes left. They applied pressure but Johnny Boychuk’s last second try clanged off the post. The Bruins hit a couple of posts including Jaromir Jagr, who looked dangerous on another power play with Derek Dorsett in the box for interference 2:20 into OT. The B’s had the puck in the entire two minutes with only a save from Lundqvist getting a whistle so the Rangers could change. Boston got eight shots despite having one of the worst power plays. 

Despite being severely outplayed, they had a couple of chances but couldn’t hit the net. The ice wasn’t good. Our team was guilty of sloppy turnovers and over skating. The Bruins were quicker and went after it, earning the win. 

3rd Star-Henrik Lundqvist, NYR (45 saves incl. 15/16 in OT-without him, it ends earlier)

2nd Star-Brad Marchand, Bos (1st of postseason-OT winner at 15:40, assist in 22:19-all over the ice)

1st Star-Zdeno Chara, Bos (2nd of postseason, assist, 9 SOG, 6 hits, 2 blocks, +2 in 38:02-best defenseman in the game)

Notes: Rask finished with 33 saves. … Hits were Bruins 51, Rangers 44. Milan Lucic paced the Bruins with eight while Chara and Boychuk each had six. Four different Rangers had five including McDonagh, Dorsett, Brian Boyle and Taylor Pyatt. … The Rangers blocked 29 shots led by Dan Girardi‘s five including a ridiculous diving block of a Tyler Seguin shot with 11 seconds remaining in regulation. Remarkable. The Bruins had 21 blocks including six from Adam McQuaid. … Boston won 37 of 67 faceoffs led by Bergeron, who dominated going 14 for 18. The Rangers’ best was Boyle, who was 11 for 20. 

… Key Stat: Giveaways NYR 17 (Brassard, Callahan 3 each) Bos 4 (Bartkowski)