• On injuries, “We were fortunate where we didn’t have the injuries. I’m not gonna use it as an excuse, but I’ll say that we didn’t have our Lucic in Clowe or our Chara in Staal. Those are two pretty big players for us. We need to try and find a way, all teams go through us and I am not using it as an excuse, but it hurt us. It hurt our depth and put people in situations that I don’t think those players are quite ready to handle yet.”
• “They got a lot of offense from their back end. Krug led the way. It’s funny how it works.”
• “I think this season we struggled to get our personality, our identity. I think it helped when we made the deals at the deadline. I watched Brassard in the last game try to take over which is really encouraging. I think that deal helped us, I just don’t think we are stiff enough. I think we tried, there was never a lack of effort with the club. I think there was a lack of awareness of how high you need to be with the level of play in the second round. As we went on I think we got better, but I still think…we are out and they are in.”
• On Dorsett, “I try to use my bench the best I can. I think he will be a really good player for us. I’d rather have him at that level of not being able to control himself than a couple of other players that I can’t get them too a level. It’s easier to tame a player than to build a player up. I think he will be an effective player for us moving forward.”
• On training camp, “I think all teams missed their training camp. With ours, it’s a rigorous camp and I think we spend a lot of time building a mindset with it. NO one else had it either, it’s not an excuse, I think we just need to build in some spots and I think we will get to the identity we want to get to
• On the Bruins, “they are a good team and very well coached.”
• “I don’t compare it to last year. With expectations, you go to the ECF and the next step is to go to the Stanley Cup Final, but we are a different team. You may not like it or think it’s an excuse, but we are a different team. We are still one of the top eight teams who get to play. We have gotten to play 30 playoff games in the past two years, some teams would lick their chops to do that. You are always looking for that end goal and the responsibility falls on me. One of the big things in this series, and it falls on me it’s a big part of my job, is that I couldn’t get my top players to play consistently. I need to take some responsibility to try and get them into spots to help us here. I thought that hurt us a bit.

• Dan Girardi 2 (power play) (Assists: Mats Zuccarello 6, Brian Boyle 2)

Second Period:

• Torey Krug 4 (power play) (Assists: Tyler Seguin 3, Brad Marchand 7)
• Gregory Campbell 2 (Assists: Shawn Thornton 3, Daniel Paille 3)

Third Period:

•  Gregory Campbell (Empty Net)

Stats:

Adam’s Thoughts:

• The Bruins are a better team than the Rangers. This isn’t like last year where the Rangers were a better team than the Devils and the Devils beat them because they were playing better at the time.
• The Bruins are what the Rangers need to aspire to be. A team that can roll four lines, have depth from top to bottom and structurally strong offensively, defensively and on special teams. The Bruins are the next level of the Rangers.
• Injuries aren’t an excuse, and Boston certainly had them on defense, but the Rangers really missed Anton Stralman in the past two two games. Obviously Marc Staal and Ryane Clowe as well, but the Rangers were doing okay without them. Stralman had been playing very strong hockey and losing him cut deep.

• This picture of Henrik Lundqvist says everything. He wants to win so badly and gives his team that chance, but his teammates can’t match his level on a consistent basis.
  
• It’s offseason time now. Will there be a fall guy for this season? I don’t think it will be John Tortorella, maybe Mike Sullivan, or at least Sullivan losing his PP responsibilities.

Post game notes from the Rangers:

Team Notes:
-      The Rangers were defeated by the Boston Bruins, 3-1, today at TD Garden, in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts are eliminated from the playoffs after losing the series, 4-1.
-      New York has posted a record of 213-233-8 overall in postseason action, including a 93-144-6 mark on the road.
-      The Rangers tallied one goal in two power play opportunities (2:54), and were 2-6 (33.3%) with the man advantage in the last two games.
-      The Blueshirts won 29-57 faceoffs (51%) in the contest, led by Brian Boyle (11-18, 61%) and Derek Stepan (11-19, 58%).
Player Notes:
-      Dan Girardi notched a power play goal, was credited with two hits and logged 25:59 of ice time. He recorded a point in each of the last two road games (one goal, one assist over the span). Girardi finished the postseason ranked first among Rangers’ defensemen with two goals, and tied for first in scoring with four points.
-      Mats Zuccarello tallied a power play assist and was credited with two blocked shots in 14:57 of ice time. He recorded three points (one goal, two assists) in the last four road games. Zuccarello finished the postseason ranked second on the team with six assists and seven points.
-      Brian Boyle registered a power play assist, was credited with four hits, and won 11-18 faceoffs (61%) in 20:07 of ice time. He tallied a point in each of the last two games (one goal, one assist over the span), and finished the playoffs tied for fourth on the team in scoring with five points (three goals, two assists).
-      Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 of 31 shots faced, and is now 30-37 in 67 career playoff contests. He finished the postseason with a 2.14 GAA, ranked fourth in the NHL with a .934 save percentage, and second in the league with two shutouts.
-      Chris Kreider tied for the game-high with six hits and logged 16:52 of ice time.
-      Ryan Callahan registered a game-high, six shots on goal, and was credited with four hits in 22:55 of ice time.
-      Derick Brassard recorded three shots and two hits in 20:33 of ice time, and finished the playoffs leading the team with 10 assists and 12 points. He currently ranks fourth in the league in assists (10) and tied for fifth in points (12).
-      Derek Stepan won 11-19 faceoffs (58%) in 17:54 of ice time, and finished the postseason ranked first on the team with four goals.

The interview usually takes place after the second TV timeout in the period.

The second TV timeout of the period occurred about two minutes after the Bruins took the lead. after a shift with five straight Boston shots on goal.

Game Notes from the Rangers:

• The Rangers will face-off against the Boston Bruins  at TD Garden (5:30 p.m. — TV: NBC Sports Network; Radio: ESPN 98.7), in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference Semifinal series. The Blueshirts trail in the series, 3-1, following a 4-3 overtime win in Game 4 on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. The Rangers enter the contest with a 213-232-8 record all-time in 453 playoff contests (120-89-2 at home; 93-143-6 on the road).
• New York has posted a 24-34 record all-time in Game 5s.

Leave your thoughts on the game in the comments section.

His lowest ice time in the playoffs was 4:05 in the Washington series and his highest was 13:50 in game four.

He has one goal and one assist with 16 hits and seven shots.

Kreider told the Daily News earlier in the playoffs that he tries not to think about what it means to be placed on which line and that he is just happy to have an opportunity to try and help the team win.

He added that he is much more focused on the result of the game than his own performance and doesn’t want to create a problem by over-analyzing himself.

Kreider told ESPN NY that no matter what people think or say about his season, he feels that he learned a lot, had a very positive experience and told SI.com, that he isn’t and has never doubted himself.

Larry Brooks writes in the NY Post that so far, Kreider has shown to be a clutch playoff performer.

John Tortorella said the day before game five that he wanted to give Kreider another chance to play on a higher line after he thought that Kreider played well in that spot before he got hurt in game three.

• The character of this team, “It would have been easy down 2-0 to just play it out but everyone in the room wanted the win.”
• On the Hagelin goal, “you could feel the lift on the bench and on the ice. It lifted everyone’s spirits.”

• On being down 2-0, “you are down 3-0 in the series and 2-0 in the game but our character, our leadership wouldn’t quit. We worked hard to get to this point to mail it in. We were playing it right to the end.”
• On finding out Brad Richards isn’t playing, “It’s tough. He is one of the leaders on this team. He is a well liked guy and a great player. It’s the other side of the business. The guys knew we had a game to play and we focused on that.”
• On talking with Richards, “We talk to each other everyday. We are pretty close, but you are worried about the game, what is at hand and what needs to be done.”
• On the PP, “That was big. Not even scoring on it, our PP looked  lot better. For us to come back we need to get the PP going and I think we had a good start with that last night.”
• On winning game five, “that is our mindset. We want to get it back to NY. We know they are going to come out hard and try to close it out, but our focus is on getting it back to NY.”
• On Chris Kreider, “You can see him growing through the season. It’s not an easy thing to do to have the playoffs that he did and then just jump into the regular season. There are ups and downs and processes to being a pro. My first season I went through the same thing with ups and downs before I eventually stuck. Kreids has been great with it. He went to Hartford with a positive attitude, he worked hard. Anytime he has been around the room and not playing he has been positive. Scoring last night will be good for his confidence and he will hopefully get going. He is a powerful skater and has a hard shot.”
• On Tortorella coaching young players, “I don’t know if he is tough. He is honest with them and lets them know what they need to be doing. Sometimes when you are a young guy it’s what you need, you need to be told you made a mistake and that you need to be better or you won’t get that ice time. It’s part of the business. How he approaches young guys, I don’t think it’s a problem how he coaches young guys.”
• On the fan reaction to Henrik Lundqvist, cheering his name, after the Bruins went up 3-2, “To be honest I didn’t notice it but it’s not surprising. He kept us in there, for years he has been the backbone of this team. The fans know that and the players on the bench certainly know that. It’s well deserved if that is what they did.”
• On the team the day after, “you gotta feel good about things. It helped our confidence to get our first  win. We are excited to get to Boston because you get a sense of life and energy after you get that first one.”
• On talking about how Boston blew a 3-0 lead, “We haven’t talked about it. It’s a different team over there and it’s a new situation and we have to create our own story.”

Marchand wouldn’t engage and skated away from Brassard to take a shot on goal.

Brassard told Brooks that Marchand has spent the whole series asking Rangers to fight but when challenged he wouldn’t accept. He also said that Marchand tends to not show much respect for his opponent.s

McDonagh had two shots on goal, four missed shots, two hits and three blocked shots.

Derek Stepan told the NY Post that this was nothing different for McDonagh and that he is doing the same thing he has all year.

Dan Girardi said that even though he is only in his third year, McDonagh expects a lot out of himself every night and has the ability, with his skating and puck handling, to take control of games.

Yesterday, John Tortorella was asked about McDonagh and said “he is probably one of the most intense, competitive person and players I have seen at such a young age. You don’t notice that edge about him on the ice, but he is a guy who wants to be there and he just competes. It’s not flashy but it’s in him. I love that about him and as I have always said, if he makes a mistakes it doesn’t take him five shifts to get it back, he is ready on the next one. It’s an intangible that he has, a mental toughness. He is one of the best at that on our team.”

Tortorella also praised McDonagh’s offensive skills and said that it isn’t fair to label him as just a shut down defender and that being a complete player is one of McDonagh’s goals., “he wants to become that complete player and he is so wet behind the years with his age and what he needs to learn about the position. It’s really encouraging.”

McDonagh had four goals and 15 assists in the regular season, while averaging 38 seconds on the PP per game.

In the playoffs, McDonagh has one goal and three assists and is averaging 42 seconds per game on the PP.

Tortorella said yesterday that he has screwed up in not putting McDonagh on the ice for the PP more.

Brian Boyle said on MSG last night that the Bruins should expect a fight through the rest of the series and that the Rangers aren’t going to just lay down and die.

John Tortorella said on MSG Thursday, “There shouldn’t be pressure on us. We should go play. We put ourselves in a hole but there shouldn’t be pressure. We should have fun. Don’t think about what you have to climb, think about the next game.”

Dan Girardi told the NY Post, “It was a great game for us and the type of win we needed to get back on track. There is no negativity in the room. We’re not worrying about anything else that is going on. We are very positive in the room and we knew we just had to win one game.”

Katie Strang noted at ESPN NY that yesterday during practice, John Tortorella skated in the middle of the circle that the players formed to stretch and repeatedly said “great f******* job last night.”