BOSTON — Henrik Lundqvist stopped 26 shots for his league-leading 11th shutout, and Derek Stepan deflected Michael Sauer’s shot into the net for the game’s only goal to lead the New York Rangers to a 1-0 victory over the Boston Bruins today.

It was the Rangers’ eighth victory in their last 10 games, moving them four points ahead of eighth-place Buffalo in the Eastern Conference.

Tuukka Rask made 22 saves for Boston, which has lost 7 of 10. It was the sixth time the Northeast-leading Bruins have been shut out this season.

Stepan’s goal came 6:39 into the game, shortly after a missed offsides call that would have resulted in a faceoff outside the Bruins zone. Instead, the play continued, there was a faceoff in the zone, the puck went out to Sauer at the point and his shot bounced off Stepan into the net.

That ended Boston’s streak of 115 minutes, 34 seconds without allowing a goal. The Bruins had scored 11 straight – including a 7-0 shutout of the rival Canadiens on Thursday – since falling behind the New Jersey Devils 1-0 on Tuesday night.

The Bruins pulled Rask with about 90 seconds left, but couldn’t tie it.

Lundqvist’s biggest scare came when Patrice Bergeron crashed into the net on a breakaway. The goalie hit his head on the back of the net and was slow to get up until a trainer came out to look at him. But he remained in the game, and he remained impervious.

It was the 35th career shutout for Lundqvist, who was playing in his 400th career game.

Notes: Mark Recchi’s next point will tie him with Paul Coffey for 12th on the NHL’s career scoring list. Recchi had been credited with an assist on Thursday that was taken away by a scorer’s change after the game. … Longtime Bruins broadcaster Bob Wilson was honored before the game.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.