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Rangers win 3-2 over Bruins in first preseason game as Mancini stands out |
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In a game that was way more physical than expected for a first preseason game, the Rangers defeated the Bruins 3-2. New York's goals were scored by Victor Mancini, Filip Chytil and Alex Belzile. Both Louis Domingue and Dylan Garand played well between the pipes, stopping 26 of 28 shots between the pair. It's New York-New York on Tuesday night at MSG.
The mantra of it's just a pre-season game and don't overreact is most certainly. However, a few nuggets stuck out to me in the contest, both good and bad.
Good:
1) Victor Mancini: the flavor of the month in camp, Mancini was a focus of a few articles this past week and on the broadcast. The praise heaped upon him seemed well deserved, as he had an extremely solid game. Beyond the goal, Mancini was in the right place at the right time, making the simple play to break up a chance or clear the front of the net. Of the blueliners that played last night, Mancini was the most noticeable for a good reason.
2) Filip Chytil: said that he was feeling 100% and not scared at all on the ice of getting injured again. Played like it yesterday, as he was engaged throughout the contest, willing to take a hit to make a play and creative with the puck. Tallied on the power okay, which was his first goal in over. ayear, as he failed to light the lamp in 10 contests in 2023-24.
3) Brennan Othmann: we knew Othmann had a little of the screw you in him on the ice, but he looks to have taken that up a notch. Delivered two heavy checks to Parker Withersppon, neither of which were well received, leading to a fight between the pair later in the game won by Witherspoon. New York has missed someone willing to get their nose dirty who also has the ability to score. Othmann has both. He is likely targeted to start the year in Hartford.
Bad:
1) Kaapo Kakko - would have loved to see more out of Kakko, especially since he was skating with what should be his usual linemates. Will Cuylle was not that noticeable either, but Kakko did little to stick out. We all know that Kakko is on a little bit of thin ice in New York and needs to bring more to the table than he has. Yesterday was not a great start to the year in my opinion.
2) Rest of the lineup: no one else really stood out to me, good or bad. The top-nine forwards are pretty much set, while those vying for a bottom-six spot didn't really separate themselves from those who didn't play last night. Adam Sykora was not as noticeable as I was hoping to see. On the blueline, the top-six is pretty much set and Mancini was the only one who made a name for himself yesterday.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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