At the end of the first period of Monday night's game against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden, all Boston Bruins fans held their breath once again. Twenty-four hours after an injury to defenseman Nikita Zadorov, fans did the same thing when Charlie McAvoy left after taking a hit.
He eventually came back out for the second period and finished the game, which was good to see with the Black and Gold down Zadorov, who missed his first game of the season. He ended up logging a lot of minutes, but in the end, it wasn't enough as the Bruins blew a 3-2 third-period lead and lost in overtime, 4-3, in a game where there is no excuse to come out with two points against a team retooling and missing some key players.
Bruins suffer second loss when leading after two periods
After a lackluster first period that saw New York take a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes, the Bruins came out and played a very good second period and were rewarded. Elias Lindholm scored his second goal of the game when he scored off a loose puck in front of the net to tie the game. Morgan Geekie then gave Boston a 3-2 lead when his shot from the left circle found its way past Jonathan Quick.
Did somebody call for Geeks Squad assistance? 🤓 pic.twitter.com/JKGYNqPVDX
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 27, 2026
The Rangers tied the game 3-3 with 6:30 left in the game when Will Borgen's shot from the point hit Andrew Peeke in the back and went into the net. Talk about some bad luck. However, the writing was on the wall before that, as the Bruins were not as strong as they had been in the third period in previous games to close it out.
In overtime, Matthew Roberston won the game at the 3:53 mark. Boston fell to 24-0-2 when leading after 40 minutes. It is a quick turnaround for the Black and Gold as they return home to host the Nashville Predators on Tuesday night. They haven't played since Saturday and are in Boston, rested and ready for the Bruins. That's why getting two points against the Rangers was a must.