Beauvillier and Isles Beat Rangers In OT

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In a game that saw the Rangers and Islanders deadlocked on the scoreboard for the majority of play, Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier netted the winner just 53 seconds into overtime, handing the Rangers a 4-3 loss.

KZB – The line of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad and Pavel Buchnevich provided all of the offense for David Quinn’s Blueshirts in this one. Buchnevich netted a powerplay goal with under a minute to go in the first period, corraling a Zibanejad saucer pass and beating Robin Lehner with a knuckle puck that tied the game at one.

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Zibanejad would add the other two Rangers goals on the night, both of which gave the Blueshirts a short-lived lead. After Buchnevich creates a neutral zone turnover coming off of the bench, Buchnevich dropped the puck for defenseman Adam McQuaid. The veteran blue-liner had his shot stopped but the rebound was laying there for Mika Zibanejad to slide into the net to give the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second period.

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For an encore, Mika scored one of his patented power play goals. After winning the faceoff from Valteri Filpulla, Zibanejad took Kevin Shattenkirk’s pass and wired a wrist shot over the short side shoulder of Robin Lehner. Chris Kreider didn’t get on the scoresheet, but he was involved in the game, most notably setting the screen for Zibanejad’s PPG. This line has been clicking all preseason, and that certainly bodes well heading into the October 4th season opener.

NY Rangers

The Kids Are All Right – Shifting gears to some of the younger Rangers, Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil saw a lot of ice time in this one and were noticeable with their work ethic throughout the game. Chytil had a phenomenal no-look pass to Chris Kreider, but the redirect towards Robin Lehner was stopped by the Swedish netminder. Both Andersson and Chytil, who was taken in the first round of the 2017 NHL draft, saw time on the power play and the penalty kill. The biggest differentiator between the two would be in the faceoff circle; Chytil won just one of his six faceoffs while Andersson won nine of the 14 draws he took. Chytil did see some time on the wing during the third period, perhaps foreshadowing that the 19-year-old could end up playing on the wing to start the season.

As for the rest of the Rangers’ youngsters, Vinni Lettieri and Tim Gettinger were most noticeable in the physical side of the game, as the two combined for seven hits and just one shot on net. Defenseman Brandon Crawley got involved physically as well, showing he isn’t afraid to mix things up after the whistle in defense of his goaltender. Neal Pionk had himself a quiet night, recording a shot on net and a blocked shot.

Finally, forward Brett Howden saw some power play time as well but wasn’t able to hit the net on his one shot attempt at the Isles’ net. With the logjam at the center position, Howden would likely be one of the first call-ups from Hartford. Could he stick around as an extra forward? Maybe; but it would be better for his development if he played big minutes in Hartford rather than sitting in the press box at MSG.

Henrik Lundqvist – The Rangers netminder had a much better outing this time around despite letting up four goals. Two Ryan Pulock, multi-screen point shots and a tic-tac-toe goal that Calder Trophy winner Mathew Barzal started in the neutral zone would be difficult shots to stop for any goaltender. Anthony Beauvillier went past a tired Filip Chytil and snuck a wrist shot between the legs of Lundqvist, who could’ve gotten down a little quicker in my eyes, to seal the Rangers fate.

Next Game: The Rangers finish out the 2018 preseason on Thursday night in Philadelphia. Puck drops at 7!

LETS GO RANGERS!!

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