Streaking into break: Rangers get Quinn a win in Boston return

BOSTON — Listen, the Rangers haven’t had a ton of feel-good moments up to this point in the season, and there probably aren’t a ton of them in the future. So they should enjoy this one, and enjoy it for nine days.

The 3-2 win over the Bruins on Saturday night meant a lot to a handful of returning adopted Boston boys, including coach David Quinn and defenseman Adam McQuaid, and it meant a lot to the club as they embark on their extended bye-week and All-Star game break.

“Really happy for many reasons,” said goalie Henrik Lundqvist, who also rolled right into solo sixth place on the all-time wins list with No. 446 as his team collected a third straight victory. “We’ve been playing well this week. Had a couple guys that came back here for the first time — coach, Adam. Probably a special game for them. To pull off the win here and go into the break on a high note, it’s a really good feeling.”

This was like a game ripped from the old days of the Rangers (21-20-7), playing a mostly smart game with some opportunistic offense. It was a terrific game, as the Bruins (27-16-5) were also preparing for their own break and the two teams went at each other with abandon, displaying tenaciousness and skill at both ends.

But eventually, the second goal of the night for Mika Zibanejad, a power-play goal at 9:05 of the third period, is what stood up as the game-winner and gave the Blueshirts a huge emotional lift going into a break that two weeks ago was looking like it would be a mourning period for the season.

“That’s the way we have to play to be success,” said Zibanejad, who now has five goals in his past three games while his line with Chris Kreider and Mats Zuccarello is developing into a legitimate top unit. “Awesome feeling going into the break with the win.”

Quinn did what he could to deflect attention from his return, having played and coached in this town for most of his adult life. “The reason I got into hockey is because of Bobby Orr and the Big Bad Bruins,” he said.

Also making it tougher was the fact that three of his former players — Charlie McAvoy, Jakob Forsbacka Karlsson (known as JFK), and Matt Grzelcyk — were all in uniform for the Bruins. “Those guys are friends of mine. I follow them closely,” Quinn said.

And afterward, when he could revel in victory, he could only let out a little smile and try not to think about the importance of this night. He was too focused on the big picture, on what he could do to get his team to actually play like this on a nightly basis.

“It’s special to win any game,” Quinn said, “but obviously it’s extra special for me being in this building, playing against a team I grew up rooting for.”

With McQuaid returning to play the team he was with for nine seasons, it was hardly a flawless effort. But killing off 8:17 of power-play time for the Bruins was a big part of it.

“There’s no secret to why we won this game — our penalty kill stepped up,” Lundqvist said.

There was also no let-up, as Danton Heinen’s opening goal at 17:28 of the first was matched 64 seconds later with a flashback goal from Filip Chytil, a right-wing rush-and-roof that was identical to the goal he scored on Thursday against the Blackhawks. He also was shoved into goalie Tuukka Rask, giving him a concussion and bringing former Islanders netminder Jaroslav Halak in for the rest of the game.

But Zibanejad beat Halak on a deft tip at 5:22 of the second before Brad Marchand beat Lundqvist at 3:24 of the third to tie it. That set the stage for Zibanejad’s winner, and set the tone for the Rangers heading out for a much more enjoyable break.

“Now they get to go on vacation and feel good about themselves,” Quinn said. “I hope they remember what we did to put ourselves in this position.”