Bruins take 3-0 lead over Rangers

NEW YORK— Daniel Paille broke a tie with 3 minutes 31 seconds left in the third period, and the Boston Bruins put the New York Rangers on the brink of elimination with a 2-1 victory in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series on Tuesday night.

Boston leads the best-of-seven series 3-0 and can advance to the conference finals as early as Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Only three teams in NHL history have rallied from an 0-3 hole to advance.

The Bruins trailed 1-0 heading into the third, but defenseman Johnny Boychuk tied it at 3:10 of the period with his fourth of the playoffs. The Rangers hadn’t lost in regulation when leading after two periods since Feb. 4, 2010.

Boston thought it had grabbed the lead seconds before Paille actually scored when a shot deflected off the mask of Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist, popped up in the air and landed on the goal line. Lundqvist couldn’t find it before Paille swooped in from behind the net and poked in the puck.