‘‘He opens up a lot of space,’’ said Nash, who has one point in his first three Rangers games. ‘‘He’s one of the best scorers in the league, and people better beware when he’s out there.’’

Rask had allowed a total of two goals in two games over 125 minutes of action this season before New York’s big first period. The Bruins were being outshot 8-2 at the time, prompting Boston coach Claude Julien to use his lone timeout.

The Bruins doubled their shot total from four to eight in the final 2:31 of the period, despite being short-handed for two minutes after Adam McQuaid earned an extra roughing penalty when he dropped the gloves to fight New York’s Brian Boyle.

‘‘We redeemed ourselves pretty well. It could have been worse,’’ Julien said. ‘‘The first 10 minutes is what obviously cost us the game. What I liked about our team is their resiliency to get back and start playing like the way we should have.’’