The Boston Bruins played their second preseason game Tuesday night, which resulted in a 3-2 loss to the New York Rangers.
Linus Ullmark played his first game in a Bruins sweater, playing the first half of the game. He stopped 11-of-13 shots and played 30 minutes until Kyle Keyser stepped in.
Igor Shesterkin started the game for the Rangers. He faced 11 shots and let in one goal from Jack Studnicka in the second period. Tyler Wall replaced Shesterkin shortly afterward and Wall finished the game for the Rangers.
All goals were scored in the second period; five goals were scored on four different netminders. Anthony Bitetto scored the first goal of the game about three and a half minutes into the period. Roughly four minutes later, Kaapo Kakko increased the Ranger lead to two. Studnicka, the 22-year-old, cut the lead to one with a one-timer. Then, late in the period, Urho Vaakanainen, Boston’s 2017 1st-round pick, tied the game. However, Artemi Panarin wouldn’t go into the locker room without a fight. Panarin scored on an odd-man rush with a minute left, sealing the lead into intermission, and counting as a game-winner.
Panarin led all players in scoring since he had one goal and two assists in the 3-2 win. Kaapo Kakko also impressed with a goal and an assist. Wall also looked like a wall for most of his time in the crease. He had a .938 save percentage and only let in one goal on 16 shots.
As for the Bruins, the most impressive performance appeared to be Studnicka, who notched a goal, assist and six shots on net. Tomas Nosek also had a solid performance. The Czechoslovakian fired a game-leading seven shots on goal, blocked a shot and registered a hit. Vaakanainen also played well, scoring the only other goal for the team and being the only defenseman to get a takeaway.
The Rangers’ top three players definitely outperformed the Bruins’, but Boston didn’t have their top players on the ice. Also, preseason isn’t too much to worry about since rustiness plays a factor as well. The Bruins play their next game against the Philadelphia Flyers on Thursday, September 30.
