First period Quick hits:

Cam Talbot made his second straight start against the Boston Bruins with Henrik Lundqvist nursing an injury to his neck. Talbot took the loss at TD Garden a little less than a month ago, 3-0. The 27 year-old goaltender has made only nine starts this season prior to tonight and sports a 4-4-1 record and has recorded three shutouts on the season. After 20 minutes of play, Talbot is a liability for the Blue shirts as he allowed two goals on five shots.

Rick Nash did what he did best scoring his league-leading 32nd goal of the season beating Tuukka Rask to give the Rangers the early lead. Marty St. Louis and Kevin Klein each recorded the assist. Brad Marchand had a costly turnover in the neutral zone that led to the goal.

It wasn’t the greatest of starts for the Black and Gold as they did not record a shot until 12:15 in the first period when Adam McQuaid riffled a slap shot that was saved by Talbot. The layoff between games could have been the factor as Claude Julien’s team hasn’t played since Saturday night. The Rangers’ forwards are continually getting behind the B’s defense for multiple breakaways, but the B’s answered.

He was questionable after battling the flu all week, but Milan Lucic made the trip and evened things up at 1-1 with a blast past Talbot top shelf. It’s the 11th goal of the season for Lucic and his 11th point in his last 11 games. Less than two minutes later, Marty St. Louis dumped the puck into no man’s land where Loui Eriksson retrieved it with speed. He then fed a streaking Patrice Bergeron who beat his man to the net and then buried his 13th goal of the season.

The Black and Gold have found a rhythm and took it to the Rangers in the last six minutes of the first period. They’re 12 for 16 from the faceoff circle, with Bergeron leading the way – winning 83 percent of his draws.

The B’s are 14-3-1 when leading after 20 minutes this season, while the Rangers are only 3-6-1 when trailing after the first. We’ll see if New York’s speed becomes a factor in the second – much like it was through the first half of the opening stanza.