OTTAWA — Brian Boyle is quickly becoming a huge thorn in the Senators side.
It's one thing to have to deal with the physical side of the 6-foot-7 Rangers forward, but his sudden burst of offense is a whole other problem.
Henrik Lundqvist made 39 saves for his fourth NHL playoff shutout Monday night, and Boyle scored for the third straight game to break a third-period tie as New York beat Ottawa 1-0.
Boyle has scored in every game and been a dominant physical presence for the Rangers.
"We've got to make sure we pay attention to him," Senators coach Paul MacLean said. "He's a big, strong guy and went to the net and got himself a goal, and that's the way he's been doing it."
Even the 27-year-old center didn't expect this kind of success.
"If I'm the villain to them that's good," Boyle said. "If I knew (I would score this often) I probably would have tried to do it a lot earlier. It's been fortunate bounces."
Lundqvist's biggest save came in the last minute when he robbed Kyle Turris on the doorstep with a quick pad stop. Craig Anderson was nearly as good, keeping the Senators in it with 22 saves.
Also, the league fined the Senators $10,000 and forward Zenon Konopka $2,500 for Konopka's conduct before Saturday's Game 2. Konopka, a former Lightning player, was fined for verbal abuse directed at a Rangers player conducting a live TV interview.
BRUINS 4, CAPITALS 3: Zdeno Chara scored the winner with less than 2 minutes left, and the Bruins finally solved playoff rookie Braden Holtby to take a 2-1 series lead.
Tim Thomas, last season's playoff MVP, made 29 saves and ignored taunting fans who held up photos of President Barack Obama, reminding Boston's goalie that he turned down a trip to the White House in January with his teammates. He said at the time he believes the federal government "has grown out of control."
Brooks Laich scored on a breakaway with 6 minutes left to tie it at 3, but Chara came through with 1:53 remaining for second-seeded Boston.
AROUND THE LEAGUE: The NHL suspended Penguins forward Craig Adams for Wednesday's Game 4 against Philadelphia for instigating a fight with Scott Hartnell. Pittsburgh coach Dan Bylsma was fined $10,000 for the fight. … Three Coyotes players, including former Lightning goalie Mike Smith, did not practice. Coach Dave Tippett would not say if Smith, center Martin Hanzal and left wing Lauri Korpikoski would be available for tonight's Game 3 against Chicago. … The Islanders dismissed assistants Dean Chynoweth and Scott Allen, clearing out the remainder of former coach Scott Gordon's staff.
| Rangers | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| at Senators | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
First—None. Penalties—Spezza, Ott (cross-checking), 2:21; Staal, NYR (interference), 5:11; Boyle, NYR (roughing), 14:21; Prust, NYR (roughing), 14:21; Spezza, Ott (roughing), 14:21.
Second—None. Penalties—Girardi, NYR (interference), 4:27; Foligno, Ott (roughing), 4:27; Spezza, Ott (holding), 15:00.
Third—1, N.Y. Rangers, Boyle 3 (Girardi, Callahan), 7:35. Penalties—Callahan, NYR (tripping), 12:51; Phillips, Ott (slashing), 13:18. Shots on Goal—N.Y. Rangers 8-8-7—23. Ottawa 12-13-14—39. Power-play opportunities—N.Y. Rangers 0 of 3; Ottawa 0 of 3. Goalies—N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 2-1-0 (39 shots-39 saves). Ottawa, Anderson 1-2-0 (23-22). A—20,182 (19,153). T—2:15.
| Bruins | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
| at Capitals | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 |
First—1, Washington, Semin 1 (Laich, Ovechkin), 16:00 (pp). Penalties—Semin, Was (tripping), 1:14; Chara, Bos (roughing), 15:31; Aucoin, Was (tripping), 17:22; Lucic, Bos (roughing), 20:00; Backstrom, Was (cross-checking), 20:00.
Second—2, Boston, Peverley 1 (Chara, Ference), :35. 3, Washington, Ovechkin 1 (Laich, Hamrlik), :48. 4, Boston, Paille 1 (Zanon, Campbell), 9:38. Penalties—Peverley, Bos (hooking), 5:18; Backstrom, Was (tripping), 6:03; Lucic, Bos (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:19; Laich, Was (unsportsmanlike conduct), 13:19.
Third—5, Boston, Rolston 1 (Kelly, Chara), 1:02. 6, Washington, Laich 1 (Backstrom, Green), 14:00. 7, Boston, Chara 1 (Bergeron, Seidenberg), 18:07. Penalties—Chimera, Was (slashing), 3:01; Seidenberg, Bos (roughing), 10:17; Backstrom, Was (cross-checking), 16:46; Lucic, Bos, double minor (roughing), 17:34; Hendricks, Was (roughing), 17:34; Backstrom, Was match penalty (match—deliberate injury), 20:00. Shots on Goal—Boston 8-11-10—29. Washington 7-14-11—32. Power-play opportunities—Boston 0 of 5; Washington 1 of 4. Goalies—Boston, Thomas 2-1-0 (32 shots-29 saves). Washington, Holtby 1-2-0 (29-25). A—18,506 (18,398). T—2:44.
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