Through his first 15 games, Brett Berard has played so much bigger than his 5-foot-9 stature.
The 22-year-old rookie notched the first game-winning goal of his NHL career in the Rangers’ 2-1 win over the Bruins on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden, giving Berard a two-game point streak and a total of five points on the season.
It was the second time Berard opted to take the shot himself and was successful on a two-on-one rush with a teammate.
This one came with Will Cuylle in the second half of the first period, and Berard went top corner on Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman to give the Rangers a 2-0 lead at the 12:53 mark.
Berard skated out and slid on one knee through the zone in an emphatic celebration.
Was it because it was his first goal at The Garden?
Or was it emotion coming out given the state of the team?
“I think a little bit of both,” Berard said. “It was pretty crazy, kind of lost control of my body there, but it was pretty funny. It was super cool; it was special.”
Berard scored in a similar way for his first NHL goal in Carolina on Nov. 27, when the Rangers’ 134th-overall pick in 2020 kept it himself on a two-on-one rush with Mika Zibanejad.
The Rhode Island native now has three goals, but his feisty and energetic play have been his most noticeable contributions. He also chipped in one block, three hits and a takeaway in Thursday’s victory.
“He’s a fiery guy,” head coach Peter Laviolette said of Berard. “He plays the game that way. The way that he hits. He was skating hard. He works relentlessly out there. It’s nice to see a guy like that get rewarded. It was a big goal.”
The Rangers opened up the scoring Thursday night on a goal that came with more meaning than just on the scoreboard.
Chris Kreider intercepted Swayman’s clearing attempt before dishing to Zibanejad crashing the middle of the zone.
The Swedish center’s rebound was collected by Reilly Smith, who backhanded it past Swayman before Zibanejad swooped in to give it an extra push over the goal line.
The goal maybe could’ve gone either way, but Smith immediately gestured for Zibanejad to go first in the celebratory fist-bump line.
It counted as Zibanejad’s first point since Dec. 11 and first even-strength goal since Nov. 19.
Brennan Othmann has played in the Wolf Pack’s last three games, recording a goal and an assist with five shots on goal.
“We’ve checked in on reports on him,” Laviolette said. “They’ve been good. He’s working his way back. He was out for a long time. So he’s working.”
Wolf Pack goalie Dylan Garand, the Rangers’ 103rd-overall pick in 2020, was named the AHL’s Goaltender of the Month for December.
He became just the sixth netminder in Hartford’s history to receive the honor.
The Rangers are scheduled to practice Friday before they venture to Washington to play the first game of a back-to-back slate, against the Capitals on Saturday before traveling to face the Blackhawks in Chicago on Sunday.
