Recap: Rangers Blow Late Lead Again, Fall 5-4 to Islanders

The preseason continued with another homestead as the New York Rangers hosted their Long Island rivals, the New York Islanders. This was probably the closest we've seen to an NHL line up as several regulars made their exhibition debut including Zibanejad, Trocheck, Lafrenière and Captain J.T. Miller. Still, the competition for roster spots was prevalent as Perreault, Othmann and others continued to earn opportunities to show what they got. Here's how the Rangers lined up:

1st Period:

Another strong start for the Rangers as Gabe Perreault seemed to fit right in on that top line with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad. It wasn’t long before the Islanders were awarded the frist power play of the night as Brett Berard caught Travis Mitchell with a high hit behind the net that was ruled a boarding minor.

Noah Laba, who continues to get plenty of opportunity throughout preseason, got first reps on the penalty kill with Vincent Trocheck and continued to be extremely noticeable right from the jump. The Rangers were successful in killing off the penalty but it wasn’t long before the Islanders were on the board. 

Gleb Veremyev was planted in front of Jonathan Quick, battling with Scott Morrow for real estate when former Rangers legend Sean Day let a shot go that redirected off Veremyev to make it 1-0. Not even thirty seconds later, the Rangers were caught flat and Quick allowed Chris Terry to score from behind the goal line, one the veteran netminder undoubtedly would have liked back. Just like that, 2-0 Islanders. 

Thankfully, the Rangers answered less than twenty seconds later in what became a very eventful 50 seconds. Othmann wouldn’t get any credit on the score sheet for this goal but a nice screen in front allowed for a shot from Adam Fox at the point to find the back of the net after taking a redirect off the stick of Trocheck, 2-1 game. 

Shortly thereafter, Cameron Berg was called for slashing to give the Rangers their first power play of the evening. This was the first preseason outing where the Rangers had as close to a full power play unit constructed as Zibanejad, Fox, Miller, Trocheck and Lafrenière took the ice to start. Which one of those five comes out for Artemi Panarin when he is healthy, remains to be seen. 

The second power play unit however, was the more fun one to watch as it featured a net front Matt Rempe with the kids (Othmann, Perreault, Morrow) plus Conor Sheary. Not only were they fun, but they were the group to convert as Brennan Othmann scored a much needed goal to tie the game up at two. Just incredible puck movement from Scott Morrow at the point as he skated around with great poise and confidence before dishing the puck over to Othmann. With Rempe providing the screen, Othmann took his time and let his shot go that sailed straight to the back of the net. 

Twelve seconds later, a great shift from that third line of Berard-Laba-Sheary went to work as Laba pulled off a great no-look pass to find Berard right by the net to put the puck home. A great goal for Berard but it can’t be overstated just how good Laba has looked on both sides of the puck. Whether he’s defending or generating offense, he’s been all over the place and up to this point, truly deserves to start the season with the big club. 3-2 Rangers with two and half to go in the opening period. 

Five goals in the first came in a span of just over three minutes. Shots were 15-6 in the Rangers favor after twenty minutes in what was quite an exciting period of hockey.

2nd Period:

It was a quieter, yet more physical start to the second period as Carson Soucy took a big hit that left him a bit shaken up. He would return shortly after but the big hits kept coming with Lafrenière and Berard joining the mix. Berard with a pretty notable one as he took down defenseman Adam Boqvist in the Islanders end of the ice. 

Nearing the midway point of the second, Alex Jeffries went off for a delay of game penalty as he sent the puck over the glass. While the top unit wouldn’t be the ones to convert on the first power play chance, they’d have better luck the second time around.  A nice move from Miller moved the puck back to Zibanejad at the point where he was able to find Trocheck down low in the corner. Trocheck dished it right back to Miller in the slot for a one knee one-timer to extend the lead 4-2. Second power play goal for the Rangers tonight. 

With about four minutes to go in the second, Soucy was called for tripping to send the Islanders back to the power play. The Rangers were again successful in killing it off and ended the period with a couple of really good chances. Laba again at the forefront of it as he pulled off a really nifty movie that would’ve given him a partial breakaway had he not run out of room with the rolling puck. Then in the dying seconds of play, Perreault made an insane pass over to Zibanejad who attempted to flip a rolling puck up and over Rittich. 

Would have been a really unique goal to score but alas, the Rangers would keep the 4-2 lead heading into the second intermission. Shots after two were now 24-15 in the Rangers favor as they seemed to be in solid control but as we learned from the Boston game the other night, none of that matters if you don't finish the job.

3rd Period:

The third period began with a goaltending change for both sides as Dylan Garand replaced Jonathan Quick and Marcus Hogberg replaced David Rittich. Two minutes into play, Berard drew an interference penalty as Mitchell took him down in front of the Islanders net away from the play. The Rangers wouldn’t convert this time around but they did get another chance just a minute later as Berg was called for a face-off infraction. 

The Rangers couldn’t get set up on this power play chance either and as Berg was coming out of the box, he ended up with the puck and beat Garand with a weird shot that Garand will definitely want back himself. Sort of a rolling puck on a weird angle that initially hit Garand but ended up rolling in to bring the Islanders within one, 4-3.

It was becoming a penalty heavy period as Noah Laba was sent off near the midway point of the third for getting a stick up high on Sean Day. The Rangers killed it off with relative ease but tensions continued to rise as there was a bit of a scrap following a save from Garand.

With less than five minutes to go, Veremyev, who was at the forefront of some of those aforementioned extra curriculars, battled hard in front of the Rangers net to tap home a bouncing puck to tie the game up 4-4. As if that wasn't bad enough, less than a minute later, Kyle Palmieri slipped a weak backhander off Garand that went off him and into the net to give the Islanders their first lead since the first period, now 5-4

With just over two minutes to go, the Rangers pulled Garand for the extra attacker to try and find their way back in this one. After a timeout to reset, the Rangers did a good job of generating strong puck possession in the Islanders zone but there wasn't much that made its way to the net.

For the second straight preseason game, the Rangers allowed three third period goals to spoil an otherwise great game. It's still preseason, so there's no reason to slam that panic button but as Mike Sullivan alluded to after the Boston game, these are things that can't become acceptable habits and the fact that it's happened now in back-to-back games is certainly less than ideal.

Final shots on goal tally was 29-25 in the Rangers favor. They'll be back at it on the road Monday night as they'll have a rematch with the Islanders on Long Island.