New York Rangers fall to Bruins 3-2 in OT, Alexis Lafreniere hurt by slapshot
The New York Rangers certainly didn’t have the same level of jump in their second exhibition game on back to back nights as they did against the Isles.
Uncharacteristically let down by their power play that went 0-4 and gave up a shorthanded goal, the Blueshirts fell to the Boston Bruins 3-2 in OT.
Recap: Bruins 3 vs Rangers 2 (OT)
1ST PERIOD
The pace in this game was certainly not on the same level for the Rangers as it was in Monday night’s victory over the Islanders.
That led to a lot of early chances by the Bruins, but newly signed backup Jaroslav Halak was up to the task. He turned aside some excellent shots and allowed the Blueshirts to find their skating legs.
At 7:03 of the period, Adam Fox converted a nice set up by Vincent Trocheck to beat Jeremy Swayman and give the Rangers the first score of the game. The other assist went to Jimmy Vesey as the 29 year-old works hard to take his PTO into a standard contract.
“It’s just preseason but you want to get good habits going,” Fox said on MSG Network. “I didn’t have to do much– it was nice play by Troch.”
New York fed off the goaltending of Halak, who stopped all the pucks sent his way, to outshoot Boston 12-7 for the period.
2ND PERIOD
The Bruins would tie the game on a laughable display of officiating.
Ryan Lindgren went to play the puck behind the net when Jack Studnicka hit him and then hurled his stick at his face causing a cut and a turnover. A.J. Greer would be the beneficiary of the missed call to beat Halak.
It didn’t take too long for the Rangers to respond, and once again it was the top line. With Vesey fighting for the puck in the slot, he put a shot on net that Swayman stopped but let get behind him. Lafreniere would battle in front and put the puck home. Lindgren, who was mugged on the Bruins goal picked up the other assist.
Halak gave way to Louis Domingue with 7:14 remaining. He finished his night making 14 saves on 15 shots.
A scary moment occurred with 4:38 left when Gustav Rydahl was taken down awkwardly and he hobbled off the ice. Samuel Asselin was called for hooking and Vitali Kravtsov almost scored on the ensuing PP but shot it over the net to keep the score status quo.
On a positive note, Rydahl returned to the ice for the final shift of the period.
3RD PERIOD and OT
The Rangers started off the final frame with a power play after A.J. Greer was called for a penalty against Will Cuylle at the end of the second period. However, they once again could not convert.
Soon after the penalty, defenseman Hunter Skinner made a bad pinch giving the Bruins a 4 on 1. Domingue dodged a bullet as the cross ice feed was put through his legs but hit the post.
The Rangers power play went to work once again after a slash on Mike Reilly was called. This time, the Bruins wasted no time taking advantage of the Blueshirts lack of chemistry on the man advantage. After Trocheck had his shot blocked it led to an odd man rush that Oskar Steen capitalized on to tie the game while shorthanded.
With 5:50 left in regulation, Skinner’s point shot caught Lafreniere low and sent him hobbling in pain to the bench. The Rangers first overall pick in 2020 was beet red mouthing, “My foot. My foot,” to trainer Jim Ramsey.
Dryden Hunt took his place on the top line, but Lafreniere remained on the bench for the rest of the game.
It took just a 1:12 of the extra session for the Bruins to win the game with A.J. Greer converting a 2 on 1 over Domingue.
UPDATE: Rangers say Alexis Lafreniere is fine.
Notable Rangers
- Jaroslav Halak stopped 14 of 15
- Louis Domingue made 19 saves on 21 shots
- Jimmy Vesey recorded 2 assists in 19:24 of action
- Alexis Lafreniere notched a goal and played 1:11 shorthanded
- Vincent Trocheck won 63% of his draws and picked up an assist
- Adam Fox scored a goal and his partner Ryan Lindgren had an assist.
Tomorrow (Wednesday, September 28): No practice
Next Game: Thursday, September 29 vs. New Jersey Devils (7:00 PM – TV: MSG)
*Schedule subject to change
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