Milan Lucic's two first-period goals set the tone, and the Boston Bruins spoiled Henrik Lundqvist's return to the ice with a 4-2 victory over the New York Rangers.
Lundqvist, sidelined for New York's last 25 games by a vascular injury caused by being struck in the throat by a puck, appeared rusty in his first game action since Feb. 2. The 2012 Vezina Award recipient allowed three first- period goals -- two to Lucic and one to Carl Soderberg -- before settling down to make 26 saves.
Soderberg added an assist and Reilly Smith also scored in an important result for Boston, fighting for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and having lost a season-high six straight coming in.
About the only negative for the Bruins on the day was having goaltender Tuukka Rask exit 10 seconds into the second period for undisclosed reasons. He stopped all 14 Ranger shots before departing, with Niklas Svedberg recording 16 saves in relief.
Rick Nash netted his 40th goal of the season for New York and Matt Hunwick tallied late in the loss, which halted a six-game road winning streak for the Metropolitan Division-leading Rangers.
[SportsNetwork.com]
