Bruins fall to Rangers in latest preseason clash

It's only the preseason, and it's only been three games (and two head-to-heads) overall, but Jim Montgomery and the Bruins have to be happy to be done with the (Exhibition) Rangers.

In New York with a chance to repay the Rangers after last Sunday's loss to the Blueshirts at TD Garden, the Bruins found themselves overwhelmed early, as the Rangers hung three goals on the Bruins in the opening frame and ultimately won by a 5-2 final at Madison Square Garden.

Outshot 16-5 in that opening period, the lone positive of the frame came courtesy of prospect Brett Harrison, as Harrison showed some tremendous patience with the puck on his stick to outwait the Rangers' Jonathan Quick for Boston's first goal of the evening.

It was Harrison's second point in as many preseason outings, with the 21-year-old on the board with a secondary helper in Tuesday's victory over the Capitals at TD Garden.

Down by three early in the middle frame, the Black and Gold pulled themselves back within two tallies by the end of middle frame, with fourth-line lock Mark Kastelic on the board with a deflection goal off a Drew Bavaro shot at the 13:28 mark of the period.

On the backend, Thursday came with the preseason debut of the Nikita Zadorov-Charlie McAvoy combo. Per NaturalStatTrick.com, the Zadorov-McAvoy combo was out there for over 19 minutes of even-strength time on ice, with the Bruins holding a 10-8 shot advantage and breaking even with one goal for and one against during that span. The Bruins saw the good and bad of Zadorov in this one, too, as he came through some heavy hits (as to expected), but got toasted on the Rangers' third goal of the opening frame (scored by Brennan Othmann) after a missed keep-in at the attacking blue line.

In goal, the Bruins gave the full game to Brandon Bussi. Making his second appearance of the preseason after getting the call in the opener, Bussi stopped 28 of 32 shots in the losing effort, and has allowed six goals on 44 shots this preseason (an .864 save percentage).

The Bruins will have Friday off entirely before they return to action Saturday night against the Flyers.

BRIGHTON -- The captain's back. Everybody get to work.

That was the message from Brad Marchand, both directly and indirectly, in his return to Bruins training camp on Wednesday at Warrior Ice Arena. Part of the message, anyway. Marchand has long been one of the NHL's unique personalities, someone who takes hockey to heart but also knows how to have fun with it. It's a delicate balance when you're actually getting ready for the season, but Marchand strikes it. And the buzz clearly ticks up a notch or three.

"The first day, you really felt it, and it just continues," head coach Jim Montgomery said Wednesday. "It's amazing how much energy and competitiveness [Marchand] adds to practice all by himself."

MORE: Bruins capture first win of preseason with strong effort vs. Capitals

Another standout player from the Group A practice, which included guys that didn't play in Tuesday night's preseason win over the Capitals, was defenseman Nikita Zadorov. Projected to play on the top pairing with Charlie McAvoy, Zadorov hasn't had much opportunity to show off his physical edge just yet, in the absence of game action. But he's also displayed a surprising ability to handle the puck and turn defense into offense, despite the bulk of his value coming at his own end of the ice.

Marchand has certainly taken a liking to his new teammate, all the way around.

"Hate him!" Marchand joked. "He's amazing. He's just an absolute animal. He can do it all. He has offensive abilities, he's big, he's mean, he doesn't care, he's a predator out there. I've played against him and I hated it. Love having him on our group. He's great off the ice, on the bench and in the room. He's always yapping, keeping things light, keeping guys on their toes. Incredible addition to the group. I think he's fit in great. Really happy to have him here."

You know who Zadorov sounds like, based on Marchand's description? Marchand. This may be an underrated partnership brewing here, although Marchand indicated that Zadorov and McAvoy might play more with the top like of Pavel Zacha-Elias Lindholm-David Pastrnak.

Marchand and Zadorov looked like a borderline buddy comedy during one 2-on-2 drill, when they worked as a pair. Coaches brought the two nets in closer to the blue lines and sent a series of pairings out against each other for a micro-scrimmage. Marchand scored against Brandon Bussi in his first rep against a pair of David Pastrnak and Johnny Beecher, while Zadorov also showed his sneaky-good hands to create open ice and finish through Bussi himself. Marchand and Zadorov kept gliding back to the bench with prominent smirks on their faces, probably the most fun any two players have had so far in camp.

"That's because we were dominating," Marchand chirped. "Well I wasn't, [Zadorov] was. He was a one-man show out there. That's part of it. We compete hard in practice, but we have fun too. When you're competing, there's a lot of pride, and when you're winning, you got to enjoy it, and he was making it look really easy out there today, and I was just riding his coattails. So, I've got to give him props when it's due."

Zadorov isn't about to oversell his offensive abilities, although he did score 14 goals two seasons ago with Calgary. His bread will always be buttered by using his size in the defensive end. But it wouldn't be surprising if he took advantage of the opportunities he's sure to get on offense, too.

"My physical game is not going to go away," Zadorov said Wednesday. "That's why I'm in the league, that's why people pay me money, that's why they signed me. So, that's my goal, defense-first, and if you can create, if you have enough guys to jump offensively - that's why it's so important to close those plays quick in the D zone, so you don't spend time there so you can play some offense.

"I'm not a Cale Makar, super-super-high-IQ and high-skill offensive defenseman, but I know my strengths and I can also chip in offensively."

Zadorov chipped in pretty well when he all of a sudden channeled his inner Tage Thompson and created some space with the puck against Pastrnak:

Not to turn this mini-dangle into the second coming of Mario Lemieux. But Zadorov and Marchand's tag-teaming was the standout moment of the day, and it's not the least bit surprising that the captain gave spectators something to enjoy as soon as he returned.

It's a welcome sight for a Bruins team that's been a tad banged up of late.

Center isn't anything new to Trent Frederic, but the 26-year-old has played all across the line throughout his Bruins career. This camp, the team appears settled on Frederic playing in the middle, and, in one of the bigger lineup surprises of camp so far, Matt Poitras is playing next to him on right wing.

If anything, you would've thought it would be flipped, with Poitras playing his natural position at center. But for now, anyway, Montgomery likes Frederic to take on the two-way responsibilities of that position more, in hopes of activating Poitras on the scoresheet.

"We think it helps Poitras concentrate more on offense and have a little more in the tank to go on offense," Montgomery said. "I think we saw that [against the Capitals]. He had puck possession a lot in the offensive zone, and Frederic was the guy coming back hard to kill plays in our D zone."

Certainly one of the more curious choices we've seen so far. But the Bruins do need to find new money on offense. Poitras will have to prove Montgomery right in the offensive end, and stay healthy on top of that.

With Fabian Lysell split from Marchand and Charlie Coyle in Wednesday's practice, the line needed a new right wing. That turned out to be Morgan Geekie, who did have some experience playing next to Coyle and Marchand in his first season as a Bruin a year ago.

It would be surprising if that lineup move stuck for any kind of term, other than in the event of an injury. But it's a sign of the team's continued confidence in Geekie to fill multiple roles and play a responsible game in critical situations.

"I'm not taking it for granted," Geekie said Wednesday. "I think it's fun, it's good competition, and everyone's vying for a spot. But, I'm just trying to come in every day and work and work on getting a little bit better. Wherever that's going to be, that's not my decision, I'm just here to play and do the best I can."

Montgomery confirmed to reporters on Wednesday that every Bruin with some sort of injury concern is dealing with "nothing serious." The latest absence was big-bodied winger Justin Brazeau, but Montgomery said he just had a maintenance day.

Center Elias Lindholm has been absent since the first day of camp, while young defenseman Jackson Edward practiced in a red non-contact sweater on Wednesday. Montgomery expects everyone to be back by next week. The B's practice at TD Garden next Monday, Sept. 30.

-- The defensive pairing of Mason Lohrei and Andrew Peeke continues to impress. That's especially in the case of their play in the defensive zone. Both guys are unafraid to use their big frames (Lohrei is 6-foot-5) to limit time and space, and they've been all over forecheckers and rushers consistently. They're projected to technically be the third pairing, so you can expect favorable matchups and potentially a step forward for both of them this season.

-- Pavel Zacha played a little center during the Group B practice, as Lindholm continues to miss time. He made a nice dump-pass off the end boards to Vinni Lettieri during a 2-on-2 drill, and the latter beat goaltender Kasimir Kaskisuo. Zacha will slide back to left wing once Lindholm returns, but Wednesday shows that Zacha will need to be ready to play in the middle again if the need arises.

-- Defenseman Ryan Mast had a nice moment during 2-on-2, when he whacked the puck away from Coyle and into the corner, where he won the race and chipped it back up the half boards. Mast, 21, played seven games in Providence last year and will likely be back there in 2024-25, but plays like that are encouraging for the 6-foot-5 blue liner.