Key takeaways after Rangers blow lead in 5-4 OT preseason loss to Bruins
It’s a good thing for the New York Rangers that preseason games don’t count. If they did, new coach Mike Sullivan would have been furious after watching his team blow a three-goal lead in the third period and lose 5-4 in overtime to the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
The 16,149 fans who welcomed the Rangers to the Garden for their first gome preseason game couldn’t be blamed thinking this one was in the bag after 40 minutes. Two days after a three-goal second period helped them defeat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 in their preseason opener, the Rangers got second-period goals by Gabe Perreault, Sam Carrick and Vladislav Gavrikov to grab a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.
But the Bruins, who were nearly as disappointing as the Rangers last season, took total command in the third period. Michael Eyssimont made it 4-2 by scoring a short-handed goal at 7:05 after stripping the puck from Adam Fox, then cut the margin to one goal at 11:11. Marat Khusnutdinov converted a pass from Eyssimont at 18:55 for a sixth-attacker goal that sent the game to overtime tied 4-4.
The Rangers killed off a power play in overtime before Khusnutdinov sent defenseman Nikita Zadorov into the Rangers zone, where he spun off of defenseman Matthew Robertson before beating Talyn Boyko, who didn’t help his case for avoiding a return to the ECHL by allowing four goals on 24 shots.
“Of course it does,” coach Mike Sullivan said when asked whether the result of a meaningless preseason game bothered him. “I told that to the players after the game. It’s not about the loss; it’s about how we lost. That’s the most important thing.”
The good news for the Rangers, aside from most of the first 40 minutes, was that Igor Shesterkin was sharp in his first appearance. Shesterkin made 10 saves on 11 shots in 29:53; he had no chance on Matej Blumel’s game-opening goal at 8:30 of the first period.
But Trey Fix-Wolansky tied the game 44 seconds later, and the Rangers dominated the second period, outshooting Boston 18-7 and scoring three times. Perreault put them ahead 2-1 at 3:25 off a superb feed by Will Cuylle, Carrick capitalized on a Boston turnover and scored an unassisted goal at 9:53, and Gavrikov finished off a 3-on-2 short-handed rush with a wrist shot past Joonas Korpisalo at 11:08 for a 4-1 lead.
Rookie center Noah Laba had two assists, continuing his impressive play.
Let’s break down the key Rangers takeaways from their 5-4 preseason overtime loss to the Bruins on Tuesday.
Related: Why Rangers will play ‘hybrid game’ style under coach Mike Sullivan
Gabe Perreault helps his case for roster spot
Perreault is the Rangers’ top prospect, and continued to show why by making it two goals in as many games this far in the preseason.
His snipe from the left circle was a thing of beauty.
“It was a great play by [Cuylle] in the neutral zone there. I saw some space, tried to rip one in the net and I was lucky enough that it went in. … The forecheck of our line (also with Juuso Parssinen) has been really good, but obviously in the third period we didn’t get enough from myself and the team in general. But we did a lot of good things in the first two periods.”
Sullivan’s impressed with what he’s seen so far.
“He seems to get better with each game he plays,” the coach said. “We really liked his game in New Jersey the other day. We liked his follow-up game tonight.”
It wasn’t allperfect. Perreault was on ice for three goals, including s shortie, and the Rangers had an xGF of 38.67 percent with him out there, per Natural Stat Trick.
The biggest disappointment for Perreault was the final score.
“It’s pretty simple: You can’t stop playing,” he said postgame. “We were definitely the better team in the first two periods, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win the game. Myself and everyone else need to be better in the third. A lot of things to learn from.”
Vladislav Gavrikov shows why Rangers wanted him
The score sheet says Gavrikov had a goal, two blocked shots and was plus-2 in a team-leading 23:51 of ice time in his first game playing the left side of the top defense pairing with Fox, earning the game’s Third Star.
What it doesn’t show is that the Rangers biggest free-agent signing this summer started the play that led to Perreault’s goal by creating a turnover at the Boston blue line, freeing the puck for Cuylle to set up the go-ahead goal. It also doesn’t show the smarts that led to his goal; Gavrikov came late to give the Rangers a 3-on-2 short-handed rush, gave Laba a target and beat Korpisalo cleanly with a wrist shot.
If his first game with the Rangers is any indication, Gavrikov is going to be just what the Rangers need to complement Fox – the same role that Dale Rolfe played for Brad Park in the 1970s and Jeff Beukeboom did for Brian Leetch in the 1990s and early 2000s.
Noah Laba could be NHL-ready sooner than expected
Laba is the team scoring leader through two preseason games with three points, all assists, including two against the Bruins.
He started the play that ended up as the Rangers’ first goal by picking off a pass just inside the Boston blue line and finding Brett Berard, who slipped a pass to Fix-Wolansky. He had the only assist on Gavrikov’s goal, again intercepting a pass and leading the rush. He drew the defense to him, saw Gavrikov coming and fed him for the goal.
“He’s been grinding every single practice,” Gavrikov said of Laba. “I’m happy to see him performing that good.”
So what does the 22-year-old think he’s shown the coaching staff so far?
“A 200-foot game, playing both sides of the puck, trying to create time and space for my teammates and help the team win,” he said. “They demand a lot, as they should. They want you to play hard in the defensive zone as well as forecheck hard, create O-zone chances and at the end of the day, shoot the puck, shoot to score.”
Laba also said he’s getting more comfortable as he gets more ice time.
“I feel good,” he said. “It’s an adjustment, for sure, after getting the last game under my belt I’m feeling a little more comfortable this game than I did last game.”
Mike Sullivan not pleased with third-period collapse
Preseason game or not, no coach likes to see his team blow a three-goal lead in the third period. Sullivan is no exception.
“At the end of the day, I get it – it’s an exhibition game,” he said. “We haven’t worked on a lot of things; we’re a work in progress. But I think the takeaway is that we need to expect more from one another.
“If we’re going to make mistakes of enthusiasm out there, we’ll live with those. – we’ll work through them, we’ll help the players work through them. But I just thought there were circumstances where we beat ourselves a little bit. I know we’re better than that.”
Sullivan also said one thing he wants to work on during the preseason is setting a standard. Suffice it to say this game wasn’t the kind of standard he had in mind.
“One of the things we talked about on day one was the responsibility we all have to live up to and set a standard here – a standard of excellence we all aspire to have in the environment every day. For me, that’s the most important thing – living up to that standard, and ultimately that standard becomes what we’re willing to accept. “So if we’re willing to accept this, where do we go from here. That’s the conversation we had with the group afterwards.”
