Brad Marchand

The Bruins rallied in the third period to earn a hard point against the Rangers on Tuesday night, but fell, 4-3, in a shootout.

The B’s completed an improbably comeback as they rallied from a 3-0 defect in the third period, with Brad Marchand tying the game with 42.3 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.

Nathan Horton had scored less than a minute earlier, with David Krejci getting the B’s on the board at 8:44 of the third. Ryan Callahan scored the game-winner for the Rangers in the shootout.

The Rangers opened the scoring in the first period with an impressive play from Rick Nash to set up a Carl Hagelin goal. Nash went around Andrew Ference on a 2-on-2 and despite losing his balance, Tuukka Rask still had to commit to him. He then knocked a backhand pass over to Hagelin, who had a clean look with plenty of net and put it in for his fourth goal of the season. The Rangers added to the lead in the second period with Derek Stepan capitalizing on a Milan Lucic turnover and beating Rask on a 2-on-1.

Rask allowed a goal he’d really like to have back when he let an easy wrist shot from defenseman Anton Stralman slowly tricked past him and into the net after he thought he’d made the save.

After the expiration of a penalty to Nash, Krejci got the B’s on the board by burying a rebound past Henrik Lundqvist. (The goal broke up what would have been Lundqvist’s seventh career shutout against the Bruins.) Though it came just after the expiration of a power play and Nash was not yet back on the ice, the B’s still went 0-for-4 on the man advantage Tuesday night.

The Bruins will return to action Friday in Buffalo as they play their first of five straight road games. They will next play at TD Garden on Feb. 28 against the Sabres.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

• Though he had a multi-point night, Lucic had a pretty dreadful first two periods. In addition to not appearing to have his legs, he was on the ice for the Rangers’ first two goals, one of which came as the result of a turnover created by a bad pass from Lucic to Dougie Hamilton. Lucic also took a high-sticking penalty in the offensive zone late in the second period.

• Krejci was also on the ice for the first two New York goals and could have been on the ice for a third due to a giveaway to Nash late in the second period. Krejci turned the puck over down low in the Bruins’ zone, with Nash’s shot ringing off the post.

• Tyler Seguin had some rough moments on the power play, taking a penalty and committing a giveaway that resulted in a shorthanded scoring chance for New York.

Seguin ended the Bruins’ power play of the game just 41 seconds into the man advantage, as he was called for hooking Stepan. Stick penalties in the offensive zone are bad to take, but they’re even worse then they cut off a power play.

Later, with the B’s on the man advantage thanks to a too-many-men call against the Rangers in the second period, Stepan and Hamilton were racing to a cleared puck as it entered the Bruins’ zone. Hamilton got it and passed it back to Seguin, who gave it away to Callahan, giving him a scoring bid as his wrist shot was stopped by Rask.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

• The Bruins came through with a big 5-on-3 penalty kill at the end of the second period going into the third. With Lucic in the box for high-sticking and Marchand off for cross-checking, the trio of Zdeno Chara, Dennis Seidenberg and Chris Kelly finished the final 14 seconds of the second period, giving the Rangers 1:03 of 5-on-3 time to work with to open the third period. Chara, Seideneberg and Patrice Bergeron opened the third period before Kelly replaced Bergeron and Lucic’s penalty expired. The B’s then killed off the final 43 seconds of Marchand’s penalty, though Stralman’s goal came shortly after.

• Horton has had a knack for scoring big goals since he’s been in a Bruins’ uniform, and Tuesday night’s performance was no different. Three of Horton’s four goals this season have come in the third period of games the Bruins were trailing. Two of them tied the game, while Tuesday’s goal brought the B’s within one.

• Marchand continued his torrid scoring pace, as he now has seven goals in 10 games. He remains on pace to surpass his 28 goals from a season ago, which would be impressive considering this is a 48-game season.

• Give Gregory Campbell credit for coming through with a big blocked shot at the end of overtime. With 6.9 seconds remaining and the faceoff in the Bruins’ zone, the Rangers won the draw and sent it back to the point, with Campbell laying out to block it.