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4 takeaways from Bruinsā preseason OT win over Rangers
āHopefully it just shows that we fight until the end and see games all the way through."
The Bruins landed in the win column on Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden, rallying back from a 4-1 deficit in the third period en route to a 5-4 overtime victory against the Rangers.
Nikita Zadorov secured the game-winner for Boston at 3:27 in overtime, while a three-point third period from forward Mikey Eyssimont sparked a Bruins grouping that struggled to find its footing for the first two periods of play.
Joonas Korpisalo played the entire game for Boston, stopping 33 of 37 shots in the win.
Here are four takeaways from Boston’s first win of the preseason:
Eyssimont delivers in third period.
It was looking like another long night for Marco Sturm and the Bruins after the first two periods of play on Tuesday night.
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Through five periods of preseason action, the Bruins were outscored, 9-3 — including a 4-1 deficit entering the second intermission at Madison Square Garden.
“We addressed it after a second. That’s not us. That’s not the Boston Bruins,” Sturm noted postgame. “That’s not how we want to play. That’s not how we want to represent our logo on that jersey. But good on them for responding.”
Boston’s late comeback was fueled by Eyssimont, who should be considered a lock for one of Boston’s bottom-six spots on the wing once the regular season commences in a few weeks.
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The free-agent pickup posted three points in the final 20 minutes of play — lighting the lamp twice before setting up Marat Khusnutdinov’s equalizer with just 1:05 left in regulation.
Eyssimont — who was brought aboard this offseason more for his pugnacious approach than his scoring touch — also doled out a few heavy hits at MSG.
The energy that the 29-year-old forward generates directly led to offensive production — with Eyssimont pick-pocketing Rangers defenseman Adam Fox before tucking a puck past Talyn Boyko for a shorthanded goal at 7:05 in the third.
Eyssimont made it a one-goal game a little over three minutes later, roofing a puck over Boyko after receiving a slick feed from defenseman Jordan Harris.
After Boston pulled Korpisalo with under two minutes to go in regulation, Eyssimont helped the Bruins push across the game-tying tally — whipping a puck across the crease that was jammed home by Khusnutdinov.
As the Bruins to stack positive practices and preseason performances through September, a veteran like Eyssimont delivered for a team in need of some good news out on the ice.
“Hopefully it just shows that we fight until the end and see games all the way through,” Eyssimont said. “We fixed a lot of things, and that’s a sign of a mature team.”
Korpisalo battles back amid more D-zone struggles.
Eyssimont’s heroics and Zadorov’s OT winner had the Bruins leaving New York in a good mood.
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But several players might want to avert their eyes later this week once Sturm and his staff run through the tape.
Throughout the first two periods of play, the Rangers pounced on a Bruins roster that once again fumbled pucks and coughed up far too many quality chances in the D-zone.
For the second-straight game, defenseman Victor Soderstrom sent a few passes out of the zone that were either intercepted or misplayed — leading to pucks sailing past Korpisalo.
Forward Johnny Beecher — who now finds himself on the roster bubble — was also stood up at the blue line by Vladislav Gavrikov, leading to a turnover that resulted in a goal from former Boston College forward Gabe Perreault just a few seconds later.
Gavrikov’s shorthanded tally at 11:08 in the second period was also unsightly. New York’s PK unit struck after Matej Blumel turned a puck over in the Blueshirts’ zone, while Casey Mittelstadt was slow on the backcheck and was unable to account for Gavrikov on the resulting odd-man rush.
Korpisalo himself wasn’t exactly sharp with some of the tallies he relinquished. But Boston’s backup netminder also battled back — stopping the final 18 shots he faced on a night that could have been even more lopsided entering the final period of regulation.
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“The game could have gone to the garbage real quick if he [didn’t] make those big saves,” Zadorov said of Korpisalo. “We gave up way too many Grade-A’s from the slot today. I thought they were really hungry on the puck. I thought they were shot-ready, shot-first mentality. I thought they were really crashing our net. And Korpy stayed big for us. He gave us a chance to get back in the game.”
It wasn’t pretty, but Korpisalo’s response has him holding the edge against Michael DiPietro in the Bruins’ ongoing competition for the backup goalie spot this preseason.
Mittelstadt showcases playmaking poise.
If the Bruins are going to generate some consistent 5-on-5 scoring punch, they’re going to need to find conduits of offense when their projected top line of David Pastrnak, Elias Lindholm, and Morgan Geekie isn’t out on the ice.
Some of that weight will fall on the shoulders of Casey Mittelstadt, a poised playmaker who has a pair of 50-point seasons on his resume.
On Tuesday, Mittelstadt showcased some of his offensive touch — recording assists on both Matej Blumel’s opening tally in the first period before feeding the puck to Eyssimont as part of Boston’s game-tying strike.
It wasn’t a perfect night for both Blumel and Mittelstadt when it came to their coverage and puck play on Gavrikov’s shorthanded goal.
But a Bruins team entering the year with few established playmakers present in their middle-six grouping will welcome the sight of Mittelstadt making plays and Blumel finding the back of the net.
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While Blumel and Khusnutdinov made a good case for more NHL reps in the coming weeks, a few other younger players on the roster bubble like Matt Poitras and Fabian Lysell didn’t necessarily move the needle.
A walk-off tally
It wasn’t the sharpest showing from Nikita Zadorov when it came to puck play, but the 6-foot-7 blueliner did secure Boston’s comeback win with a sharp snap shot with 1:33 left in overtime.
There would be no celebrations on the ice for the 30-year-old blueliner. Immediately after lighting the lamp, Zadorov casually made his way off the ice.
“I just want to go home, with my family,” Zadorov said of his walk-off celly.
Ahead of Tuesday’s game, Sturm harped on Zadorov’s critical role on this roster — both on and off the ice.
“We want him to play hard,” Sturm said of Zadorov. “We want him to close as quickly as possible because of his reach and yeah — we just have got to get him going again. … We need him this year. We need him to be a leader, be a presence on the ice and be one of the better D moving forward.”
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