GOLD STAR: Brett Connolly had been quiet for much of this preseason, but he busted through for a pair of goals in the losing effort skating with normal linemates Ryan Spooner and Jimmy Hayes. Both scores involved the 6-foot-2, 193-pound Connolly crashing hard to the net: the first goal was a tap-in after Hayes drew the defense to him with a rush down the right wing, and the second goal was a baseball swing at a rebound that popped into mid-air during the final moments of the third period. Connolly finished with four shot attempts in 17:47 of ice time, and appears to be hitting his groove right at the end of training camp.
BLACK EYE: Chris Breen has impressive size and is a decent AHL defenseman, but it just doesn’t look like the NHL is in the cards for him aside from the nine games he played with the Calgary Flames a couple of years ago. He finished a minus-1 in 17:41 of ice time, and did very little to clear bodies away from the front of the net during New York’s first goal aided by the screen in front of Jonas Gustavsson. Just prior to being on ice for the goal against Breen had also thrown a blind pass that turned into a dangerous offensive possession for the Rangers as well.
TURNING POINT: The Bruins looked pretty good through most of the first two periods and had thrown a lot of rubber at Henrik Lundqvist while totaling 32 shots on net. But the Bruins buckled in the final couple of minutes in the second period, and surrendered a pair of goals including the go-ahead goal with just 38 seconds remaining in the period. That one was a backbreaker with a turnover in the offensive zone quickly turning into a J.T. Miller rush up the left wing. Adam McQuaid didn’t keep Miller to the outside, and he was able to drag the puck into a wrist shot that Gustavsson wasn’t able to knock away. The Rangers never trailed again after posting those two goals at the end of the second period.
HONORABLE MENTION: Solid, solid night for Ryan McDonagh. He fired the point shot that bounced off Oscar Lindberg in front to tie up the game, and worked the puck up to J.T. Miller for the Rangers go-ahead score as well. He also brought the typical physical presence in his 21:56 of ice time along with a plus-2 rating, three shot attempts and three registered hits. McDonagh is exactly the kind of defenseman in his prime that the Bruins don’t have right now and are in dire need of if they really want to set things right with their back end. A close second would be Henrik Lundqvist, who held the fort while stopping 31-of-32 shots in the first couple of periods to keep the Rangers in the game while the rest of the team caught up to him.
BY THE NUMBERS: 7 – the number of shot attempts for Swedish winger, Anton Blidh in his most effective game to date for the Bruins showing both his hockey skills, and his ability to aggravate opponents.
QUOTE TO NOTE: “He was good tonight. When I looked at the first goal, he’s got two Rangers out in front of him and it goes through. He can’t see much. The other goal at the end, the break down with the pull and drag, with the third goal there - I don’t think he had much of an opportunity. I thought he played pretty well.” –Claude Julien, on Jonas Gustavsson in the losing effort portion of his battle for the backup goalie spot.