Last night, the Rangers played their final game of the preseason. It was seen on TNT. They were defeated 3-1 by the Bruins at MSG.

If you think Preseason Mattahs (an inside joke that Marc will find amusing), then the Rangers failed and bailed by finishing 1-5. All kidding aside, it would be nice to have seen them play better during these games. Will anyone even care if they start well under Peter Laviolette? As long as they have a good season with a playoff run in a tough East, nobody will remember the preseason.

Laviolette admitted that not having Filip Chytil for more than one of the tune-ups didn’t help. He was hoping to get a closer look at Chytil with Artemi Panarin. Instead, another mysterious injury kept the fragile center out of action. He didn’t even get hurt in his one appearance. It happened during a team practice. The ‘c’ word has been floated around by some who cover the team. The media have chosen their words carefully.

With coach Lavy indicating that Chytil had a good workout the other day, hopefully, that’s a positive sign. The Blueshirts need him healthy. Nobody wants to see $3.8 million fourth liner Barclay Goodrow centering Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere (goalless in the preseason). It’s like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.

Here is how the lineup looked for last night’s game:

NYR LINES

Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko

Panarin-Goodrow-Lafreniere

Cuylle-Trocheck-Wheeler

Vesey-Bonino-Othmann

Lindgren-Fox

Miller-Trouba

Gustafsson-Jones

Igor Shesterkin got the start and went all the way. He hardly broke a sweat, facing just one shot in the first period. For the game, he stopped 12 of 14 shots. That’s not a misprint.

The Rangers played their best period of the preseason in the first period against the Bruins. It was a tight checking style that had to please Laviolette. A big improvement from prior games. The Bruins aren’t as fast or explosive as the Devils. That helped.

One difference was the chemistry the top line had. With Laviolette finally sticking Kaapo Kakko with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, they looked cohesive. It was during the last season that Kakko was given a look by former coach Gerard Gallant on that first line. But he broke it up.

Kakko’s skating has improved. He continues to excel defensively. It was a play in the defensive zone that led to the game’s first goal. With Kakko helping out, Adam Fox passed out for Kreider, who quickly transitioned into the Boston zone. He then made a nice backhand feed for Kakko, who used a screen to snap a wrist shot past Jeremy Swayman from distance. It was his second goal of the preseason.

That’s how it’s supposed to look. Good defense leading to offense. The best part was Kakko didn’t hesitate to shoot the puck. Something he did later in the game on a wide open opportunity. He instead tried a pass down low that didn’t work. If he wants to become a consistent goalscorer in the league, Kakko must be more instinctive.

While the Bruins found it hard to make any plays offensively, the Rangers also might’ve discovered a potential third line. Will Cuylle has been a bright spot during these two weeks. He finished with three goals and an assist. On Thursday night, he played alongside Vincent Trocheck and Blake Wheeler. They created some chances off the forecheck. Cuylle nearly scored again on a good shot from the slot.

His effective play is due to how aggressive he is. During the TNT broadcast, Cuylle was praised by veteran analyst Darren Pang. He loves the way Cuylle plays. Pang even noted that he reminds him of current Bruins captain Brad Marchand. While I wouldn’t go that far, don’t forget that Marchand also started as a role player. He grew into the star he is today through hard work and being a rat (super pest).

That line with Trocheck and Wheeler has potential. The only question is whether Cuylle will make the roster. It feels like he should play in next Friday’s season opener against the Sabres.

Laviolette provided an update on Tyler Pitlick yesterday. He left Wednesday’s game in the second period with an upper-body injury. It sounds like he’s progressing.

With less than four minutes left in the first period, Panarin sold an interference call on A.J. Greer, who shook his head when he entered the box.

Although they didn’t convert on the power play, it actually resembled a real five-on-four. Panarin created some chances. He just missed connecting with Kreider down and hit the post. The second unit included Cuylle, who tested Swayman with a good shot in front. Kakko then exploded up the ice to set up Lafreniere for a shot.

There was a lot to like about the power play. They were quicker in their decision-making, which led to quality scoring chances. Swayman did his job.

On a rare Bruins offensive shift, Cuylle made a good back check to deny David Pastrnak of a shot. Erik Gustafsson would later make a similar defensive play. He has been the best defenseman during the camp. He hasn’t only shown his offensive capability but the ability to play responsibly defensively. He’s never been known for his defense. Maybe Gus fits the Laviolette style. He was successful in Washington. He’ll start the season on the third pair with Braden Schneider, who got the night off.

Zac Jones played with Gustafsson on the right side. He made good outlets to get out of the Rangers zone. Pang liked Jones’ first pass. Whether or not he gets an opportunity with the Blueshirts remains to be seen. It feels like Jones will be behind Gustafsson, which means spending some time in the press box. Unless there’s an injury to the defense, he could get moved. Especially if they keep Ben Harpur as another depth defenseman.

In regards to the first that saw the Rangers hold a 7-1 edge in shots with a 1-0 lead, I gave some observations on Twitter/X:

As expected, the second period was better from the Bruins. Even with a mix of regulars and a few players still around trying to make one final impression, they picked it up. The Rangers didn’t find as much operating space to attack. It was more of a Boston style. They were sharper.

Even though shots remained hard to come by, it was Boston that drew even on the power play. On a second straight power  play with Jacob Trouba in the box for tripping Greer, Pavel Zacha started a nice passing play. He moved the puck down low for Pastrnak, who then fed a wide open Charlie Coyle for an easy finish in front.

There was too much puck watching by the four penalty killers. They were a bit too passive. Of course, a lot of focus was on Pastrnak due to him scoring 60 goals last season. He’s a dangerous finisher. Especially on the man-advantage. Of the 301 goals that he’s scored, 101 have come on the power play.

Alexander Ovechkin has the most PPG’s in league history with 299. He’s still chasing Gretzky for the most goals all-time. When the Great Eight is done playing a few years from now, we might be discussing Pastrnak for at least the most power play goals. He’s only 27 and signed long-term with the B’s. Who knows. Maybe he can even chase down Czech living legend Jaromir Jagr (766). A few more seasons of 50-60 goals, and we’ll have something to keep an eye on.

Back to the game. Jimmy Vesey didn’t take kindly to Coyle cross-checking him. He even challenged Coyle. But he fell before either could get off any punches. The two Massachusetts Dobermans both exchanged pleasantries before going to the box. Coyle received an extra two for the cross-check.

The Rangers power play decided to overpass the puck rather than shoot. It led to the crowd begging then to shoot. It was two wasted minutes off the clock. An easy Bruins kill. That’s what drove fans nuts last season. The constant overthinking rarely works. Good power plays are instinctive. We’ll see if Phil Housley can improve that area.

With the game tied, it didn’t stay that way for long in the third period. On some sustained pressure, the Bruins struck for the lead only 73 seconds in. Morgan Geekie moved the puck to Trent Frederic behind the net. He then found a vacated Matthew Poitras for a quick one-timer in front that Shesterkin had no chance on.

The biggest culprit was K’Andre Miller. He got caught watching on the play. All he had to do was keep skating and take Poitras. Miller remains a talented player with some issues that need fixing. It’s his fourth year. They gave him a nice raise for the next two years. It’s about time he stopped getting caught on such plays like the one Dawson Mercer beat him on and then Poitras last night.

Jan Levine pointed it out. He doesn’t make excuses for Miller, who had a bad finish to 2022-23. He could be capable of 50 points. But there needs to be an improvement on the defensive side of the puck. Finding that consistency is the key to unlocking his potential.

There really wasn’t much else to get excited about. The Rangers tested Swayman more in the third with a dozen shots. But he did a good job keeping them off the scoreboard. He got over to deny Zibanejad twice on a late power play.

With Shesterkin pulled for an extra attacker after a power play failure, Geekie passed out for an easy Greer empty netter to wrap up the preseason.

Brennan Othmann, who played on the fourth line, was sent down to Hartford earlier today. It was predictable. They don’t want him playing a limited role with the big club. Instead, the impressive top prospect will get bigger minutes with the Wolf Pack. While certainly understandable, Othmann outplayed Lafreniere and some other vets. However, the decision is best for his development. If he plays well, maybe he can debut at some point in 2024.

Othmann certainly has the tools to become a successful player. He is a good skater with size and skill who isn’t shy about going to the dirty areas. It’ll be exciting to follow him.

As far as the lineup, it’ll depend on Chytil. With Othmann sent down, Jonny Brodzinski remains with the team. Is he going to be on the roster? He deserves to be. If not, he’ll have to pass through waivers. The injuries to Chytil and Pitlick will determine the final roster next week.

UPDATE: It looks like we have an answer. Both Brodzinski and Ben Harpur are on waivers per Elliotte Friedman. That means Will Cuylle made the Rangers. That’s great. He sure deserves it. Too bad for Brodzinski. I hope he gets claimed. If he and Harpur don’t, they’ll clear and be assigned to Hartford.

As expected, the organization assigned Dylan Garand to Hartford. That was the expectation. He didn’t see much action in the exhibition season. Even if you aren’t crazy about Jonathan Quick as the backup, that’s how they’ll begin the season. Time will tell if he can fill the role Jaroslav Halak did. Halak also had a bad start last year but became dependable. He remains an unsigned free agent.

Marc Weissman is a longtime Rangers fan who was featured in the Rangers Stanley Cup video that included fans such as friend Anthony Cinque from the original Section 411. Weissman had a good summary of the Rangers’ preseason.

As I replied to him, “Preseason Mattahs.” Tongue in cheek, of course. He likes the mocking of the classic Boston [Bahstahn] accent. That’s part of my sarcastic nature. Imagine this scenario.

Boston goal scored by David Pastahnahk. Assisted by Brad Mahchahnd. And by Pavel Zahcha. Don’t forget to throw some New England clam chowdah in with crackahs.

If preseason really mattered, then teams would dress most of their regulars for every game. Besides. The 2013-14 Rangers under first-year coach Alain Vigneault went 1-5 in preseason and had a poor start. Eventually, they adjusted and went on a memorable playoff run.

Nobody knows what’s going to happen. The regular season is 82 games long. There will be peaks and valleys. We’ll find out what’s ahead. If the Rangers get off to a slow start, let’s try to keep some perspective. Nobody wins anything in November or December. As long as you hang around, anything is possible.

That’ll do it for now. Enjoy the holiday weekend.

Derek

Twitter/X: NewYorkPuck

Email: kovy274hart@yahoo.com