BOSTON — When the game was over and Pavel Buchnevich had scored the first goal of his career in the Rangers’ 5-2 victory Saturday night over the Bruins, the 21-year-old rookie placed a phone call to his native Russia.
“It’s my dream. I think of my dad and mom,” Buchnevich said. “They enjoy. No sleep. [They] watch every game.”
Buchnevich scored on a power-play wrist shot from the right circle, converting Derek Stepan’s feed for a 4-1 lead at 13:37 of the third period. The milestone goal came in his seventh game, having earlier missed five contests with a lower-back issue.
“It was a good pass [to] me,” the affable rookie said. “I just close my eyes and shoot. It was a long time without a goal. No good for me.”
First, there was 2015 first-overall wunderkind Connor McDavid at the Garden on Thursday with the Oilers. Next up for Henrik Lundqvist, the brilliant 2016 second-overall pick Patrik Laine of the Jets on Broadway on Sunday.
The King got his first up-close-and-personal look at Laine in the World Cup during the Sweden-Finland match in which the goaltender pitched a 2-0 shutout. Laine produced a chance early on a dash down the left side but was quiet thereafter.
He did not record a point in the tournament, through which Finland went 0-3 while scoring the sum of one goal.
“Watching some of their games on TV, I can see he’s come a long way already,” Lundqvist said of the 18-year-old winger who entered Saturday leading NHL rookies with seven goals. “He’s gotten more comfortable playing on the smaller rink. His shot is amazing. There are not many guys who can stand still and shoot a wrist shot from the circle. He does.”
Lundqvist, who lost both games to the Jets last season, somehow has won only 12 of 28 career decisions (12-9-7) against the Atlanta/Winnipeg franchise despite a .920/2.19 stat line.
When Derek Stepan and Kevin Hayes both scored killing penalties, it marked the first time since a 5-0 victory in Edmonton on March 30, 2014, the Rangers recorded a pair of shorties in a game, with Rick Nash and Mats Zuccarello having scored in that one. The Blueshirts have scored three short-handed goals just once in their history, with Don Maloney getting two and Mike Rogers the other in an Oct. 5, 1983, opening night 6-2 victory over the Devils at the Garden.
The Rangers have won nine of their first 12 (9-3) for first time since the 2008-09 club bolted to a 9-2-1 start. Word to the wise (and Alain Vigneault): Tom Renney was fired as coach before the end of February that season.
The game was up and back with outstanding pace through a first period in which there were no stops of play for a span of 6:25 from 5:11 to 11:36. But business being business, that meant three television timeouts within the next 2:45.
Referee Dean Morton left the game with 3:57 remaining in the second period after he was struck in the head with a puck off Kevin Klein’s stick. The game was completed with Frederick L’Ecuyer working as the lone ref.
Oscar Lindberg (third straight up front) and Adam Clendening (seventh straight on defense) were the healthy scratches.