Slow start costs Rangers in 4-1 preseason finale loss to Bruins
The best thing that can be said about the New York Rangers’ 4-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Saturday in their final preseason game was that it didn’t count in the standings.
Coach Mike Sullivan and his staff must hope that the Rangers show a lot more energy on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden when the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town for the regular-season opener than they did in the first period Saturday.
With J.T. Miller (lower body) and Artemi Panarin (upper body) each out with an injury, the Rangers looked discombobulated on offense until the hole they were trying to climb out of was too big. They trailed 3-0 until Noah Laba’s 6-on-4 power-play goal with 3:37 remaining in regulation. But Nikita Zadorov scored his second of the game into an empty net with 1:29 remaining to ice the win.
The Rangers outshot the Bruins 31-16, including 26-9 after the first period. But the Bruins made the Rangers pay for some sloppy defensive zone coverage and took a 2-0 lead after 20 minutes.
Morgan Geekie won a puck battle in the corner and fed Fraser Minten, one of Boston’s top prospects, to the right of Shesterkin. Zadorov, who scored in overtime when Bruins won 5-4 at the Garden on Sept. 23, slipped down from the left point to give Minten an outlet, took the pass and buried it at 5:55 for a 1-0 lead.
Pavel Zacha doubled Boston’s lead at 14:39 after the Rangers fumbled the puck away behind their own net. Casey Mittelstadt found Zacha alone in front for a wide-open shot that Shesterkin again had no chance to stop.
The only real energy the Rangers showed in the first 20 minutes came when Matt Rempe and Boston’s Matt Kastelic got into a scrap with six seconds remaining. The Bruins had seven scoring chances to two for the Rangers in the period, according to Natural Stat Trick.
The visitors looked much better in the second period, outshooting Boston 13-2 and out-attempting the Bruins 33-4. But Boston scored the only goal, 11 seconds into its first power play. David Pastrnak spun a pass to Charlie McAvoy, whose wrist shot was tipped up and into the net by Elias Lindholm at 16:48 for a 3-0 lead.
Though the Rangers owned the puck in the middle period, they generated few serious scoring chances against Jeremy Swayman, whose best stop came when he denied Vincent Trocheck during a 4-on-3 power play.
The Blueshirts finally began firing on all cylinders in the third period. Unfortunately, they couldn’t solve Swayman, the game’s First Star, until Laba spoiled his shutout bid by deflecting Adam Fox’s shot into the net. Zadorov’s empty-netter capped the Rangers’ 2-3-1 preseason.
Here are three takeaways after the Rangers completed their preseason with a 4-1 loss to the Bruins in Boston.
1. Noah Laba leaves another positive impression
Miller’s absence meant one more chance for the 22-year-old rookie center to show why he should be on the opening-night roster.
Laba led the Rangers in preseason scoring (six points; two goals, four assists). In addition to his goal, he was credited with four hits and won four of his seven face-offs.
The odds are that Laba will be among the last couple of cuts and will begin the season with Hartford, the Rangers’ AHL affiliate, where he played 11 games late last season after signing with the Blueshirts following three seasons at Colorado College. That may be the best place for him right now; he’ll get more ice time and play in all situations. He still has a lot to learn.
But don’t be surprised if you see No. 42 in a Rangers uniform before the season is done; he’s given Sullivan and his staff lots to think about.
2. ‘Starting on time’
That’s one of the favorite phrases of longtime NHL coach Mike Babcock, who wouldn’t have been too happy if he were in Sullivan’s shoes on Saturday. The Rangers largely mailed in the first period and paid the price; by the time they decided to play, the outcome was almost assured.
The trip to TD Garden was part of what Sullivan referred to as an “excursion” — a team-building weekend getaway to New England at the end of training camp and before they prepare for the regular-season opener. This couldn’t have been what he envisioned for the hockey part of the trip. Yes, it’s a game that meant nothing, but the poor start couldn’t have pleased him.
3. Will Panarin and Miller be ready for opening night?
That’s the $64,000 question as the Rangers prepare to host the Pens on Tuesday.
Miller appears closer to being ready. He practiced Friday wearing a no-contact jersey and figures to get in at least a practice or two, likely with contact, before the puck drops for real.
Panarin, the Rangers’ leading scorer in each of his six seasons on Broadway, didn’t practice Friday because of an upper-body injury after missing a week with a lower-body injury sustained Sept. 19. He returned to practice on Sept. 26 but has yet to take contact. He skated before practice Friday but did not play in a preseason game.
Needless to say, the Rangers can’t afford to be without either player for very long.
