NEW YORK (AP) — The Boston Bruins are on the brink of the Eastern Conference finals, and they got there on the backs of their suddenly offensive defensemen and a potent fourth line of forwards. If the Bruins start firing on all cylinders, the Rangers will have little hope of even forcing a Game 5 let alone entertaining thoughts of matching the greatest comeback in sports. The Bruins could afford to relax Wednesday, and many of them did, as the team held an optional practice at Madison Square Garden — the site of Boston's 2-1 comeback win a night earlier that pushed the Rangers within one loss of elimination. New York also got back on the ice at its suburban practice facility, and it was clear the sting of Tuesday night's disheartening defeat lingered. The Rangers are just over one week removed from back-to-back shutouts by Henrik Lundqvist in Games 6 and 7 against the Washington Capitals in the first round, but those good times feel a whole lot longer ago now. The Rangers had been 3-0 at home in the playoffs and had won nine straight at Madison Square Garden, dating to the regular season. Boston defenseman Johnny Boychuk scored his fourth goal of the postseason earlier in the third with a shot that might have clipped forward Shawn Thornton — Paille's bruising linemate along with Gregory Campbell. Thornton assisted on both goals, to get himself on the score sheet for the first time against the Rangers, and Campbell had an assist on the game-winner to go along with a goal he scored in Game 2. While injured Bruins defensemen Dennis Seidenberg and Wade Redden continue to practice and move closer to returning, the Rangers are dealing with the loss of defenseman Anton Stralman, who got hurt when he was checked hard Tuesday night by Milan Lucic and left the game in the second period.

The margin of error went from slim to none in an uncharacteristic home loss that put the Broadway Blueshirts on the brink of elimination. [...] defenseman Johnny Boychuk tied it 3:10 into the third and Daniel Paille scored the winner with 3:31 remaining to push the Bruins to the verge of the Eastern Conference finals. The Rangers again couldn't get their power play untracked, failing in both of their chances and dropping to 0-for-10 in the series. New York has only two power-play goals in 38 opportunities during these playoffs. Boychuk was credited with the tying goal after the puck appeared to deflect into the net off Rangers defenseman John Moore. Lundqvist shined in the second, making a pad stop on Seguin about 6 1/2 minutes in, stretching across to knock away a drive by rookie defenseman Torey Krug — who scored in each of the first two games of the series — and then bringing the crowd to its feet with a lunging glove snare of Gregory Campbell's slap shot from the left circle with 8:24 remaining. The Rangers got off to a sluggish start after losing the opening faceoff, and didn't mount any kind of early surge fueled by the excited home crowd. The tide turned back to the Bruins' favor just before the midway point in the period, starting with a partial breakaway after New York turned over the puck at the Boston blue line. The Rangers didn't yield a power-play chance for the second straight home game. ... New York D Anton Stralman was injured in the second period and didn't return. ... Since Boston trailed 4-1 in Game 7 against Toronto, Rask has allowed five goals in four-plus games.

Daniel Paille scored the tiebreaking goal with 3:31 left in the third period — after defenseman Johnny Boychuk got the Bruins even earlier in the frame — and Boston put the Rangers on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night. Boston thought it had grabbed the lead seconds before Paille scored when a shot deflected off the mask of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, popped up in the air and landed on the goal line. The Rangers were already trying to become the first NHL team to ever rebound from 0-2 holes to win consecutive series. The Rangers again couldn't get their power play untracked, failing in both of their chances and dropping to 0-for-10 in the series. Boychuk was credited with the tying goal after the puck appeared to deflect into the net off Rangers defenseman John Moore. Lundqvist shined in the second, making a pad stop on Seguin 6 1-2 minutes in, stretching across to knock away a drive by rookie defenseman Torey Krug — who scored in each of the first two games of the series — and then bringing the crowd to its feet with a lunging glove snare of Gregory Campbell's slap shot from the left circle with 8:24 remaining. The Rangers got off to a sluggish start after losing the opening faceoff, and didn't mount any kind of early surge fueled by the excited home crowd. The tide turned back to the Bruins' favor just before the midway point in the period, starting with a partial breakaway after New York turned over the puck at the Boston blue line. New York D Anton Stralman was injured in the second period and didn't return. ... Since Boston trailed 4-1 in Game 7 against Toronto, Rask has allowed five goals in four-plus games.

Boston002—2N.Y. Rangers010—1First Period_None. Penalties_Jagr, Bos (holding), 4:08; Marchand, Bos (cross-checking), 7:42; Dorsett, NYR (roughing), 7:42. Second Period_1, N.Y. Rangers, Pyatt 2 (McDonagh), 3:53. Penalties_Horton, Bos (hooking), 1:31. Third Period_2, Boston, Boychuk 4 (Paille, Thornton), 3:10. 3, Boston, Paille 2 (Thornton, Campbell), 16:29. Penalties_None. Shots on Goal_Boston 9-14-11_34. N.Y. Rangers 11-5-8_24. Power-play opportunities_Boston 0 of 0; N.Y. Rangers 0 of 2. Goalies_Boston, Rask 7-3-0 (24 shots-23 saves). N.Y. Rangers, Lundqvist 4-6-0 (34-32). A_17,200 (17,200). T_2:30. Referees_Dan O'Rourke, Kevin Pollock. Linesmen_Lonnie Cameron, Jay Sharrers.

According to coach John Tortorella, the Rangers played much better in the Game 2 blowout than in their overtime defeat in the series opener. The bottom line is this: for the second consecutive series, New York has dug an 0-2 hole on the road and will need to rebound quickly at Madison Square Garden if the club hopes to extend this postseason run. The Rangers returned to practice one day before they will host the Bruins in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series. In the first round, the Rangers returned home after dropping two games in Washington and evened the series with a pair of wins at the Garden. The home team won every game in that series until New York took Game 7 in a dominating 5-0 decision. New York is 2-19 in series it trailed 0-2, and no NHL team has won consecutive series after losing the first two games. The Bruins are also well aware they still have plenty of work to do to reach the Eastern Conference finals for the second time in three seasons. The Bruins then staged a three-goal comeback in the third period of the decisive game to get to overtime. Patrice Bergeron scored the tying and winning goals to help the Bruins survive and advance. Lundqvist gave up 12 total goals in the first five games of the first-round series versus the Capitals before shutting them out in Games 6 and 7.