Brandon Bussi had a tough time navigating through some New York’traffic, Thursday night.
The Bruins goaltender surrendered four goals, including three in the opening period, as the Rangers rolled to a 5-2 victory in exhibition play at Madison Square Garden.
The loss was a tough blow for Bussi. The goaltender is currently vying for Boston’s backup role behind Joonas Korpisalo, while restricted free agentJeremy Swayman remains out in a contract dispute.
The 6-foot-4, 218-pound understudy was tested early and often. The southpaw made 28 saves, while sporting a .875 save percentage in the loss.
“I think (the Rangers) did a good job of getting bodies in front,” said Bussi, 25. “Getting a stick on a lot of shots, redirecting them. Credit them, but I think rebounds were the big thing tonight. You clean those up you’ll have an easier night in net.”
The Bruins certainly didn’t help matters coming out flat-footed and stuck in penalty killing mode to open the contest. Ranger defenseman Adam Fox scored a go-ahead goal off a 5-on-3 power play grabbing the 1-0 lead. Boston seemed to play catch up for the remainder of the game.
Harrison heats up
Brett Harrison continued his heady play. The Bruins prospect scored off a nice outlet pass from Morgan Geekie, knotting the game at 1-1 at 14:44. Harrison looked like a pure sniper, holding the puck an extra split second before rifling a wrister past Jonathan Quick (10 saves).
Fresh off an impressive showing at the 2024 Prospect Challenge in Buffalo, Harrison continues to see his stock rise. The 6-foot-2, 183-pound left winger remains one of the Bruins dark horse candidates emerging out of training camp, in a highly-competitive field of forwards.
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Boxford’s Chris Kreider tipped the scales back in New York’s direction. The Rangers captain deflected a Jacob Trouba blast past Bussi with 1:55 remaining in the period. Things went from bad to worse 80 seconds later. Brennan Othmann pounced on a costly Nikita Zadorov turnover along the boards. The rookie winger managed to squeeze past the towering defenseman, scoring off the clean breakaway to hold the 3-1 advantage.
“It was just a good move by him,” said Bussi. “I’m more disappointed in the fact that it was 1-1 with two minutes left in the first and we’re down 3-1 going into the locker room. Got to find a way to shut it down and keep it a 1-1 game.”
Kastelic checks in
Both teams traded goals in the second period. Mark Kastelic provided the Bruins lone highlight of the stanza, tipping a Drew Bavaro slapshot past Quick cutting the Rangers lead in half at 13:28. The 6-foot-4, 226-pound center also traded blows with Connor Mackey in the first fight of the preseason at 16:56 of the second period. But that’s as close as they’d get.
“There were times where we had to carry the momentum,’ said Kastelic. “I think you can see when we play a little below their hash marks that we were a lot more successful. I think that’s something we’ve got to try to continue to build on.”
Adam Edstrom netted an empty net goal at 17:57 of the third to seal the Rangers victory.
“I didn’t think we were very physical,” said Bruins coach Jim Montgomery. “I don’t think there was much emotion in our group. e started the game okay, then we had (to kill) a 5-on-3. We didn’t respond well after that.”
“The most important thing, what we’re looking for, is to see your team game build,” the coach added. “That was below average tonight. The other part is individuals making a mark themselves, showing emotion and physicality when things aren’t going well. Build momentum for the team.”
Koepke a keeper
Another Bruin making headway was Cole Koepke. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound winger picked up a secondary assist on Kastelic’s goal. He also led the team with five hits, while providing two of his team’s four takeaways.
Boston’s top line of Pavel Zacha, Matthew Poitras and David Pastrnak were scoreless. Each player was a -3. Pasta led the team in shots with four, but also tied for the team lead in giveaways with four. He shared that dubious distinction with defenseman Ian Mitchell.
Another Bruin making headway was Cole Koepke. The 6-foot-1, 207-pound winger picked up a secondary assist on Kastelic’s goal. He also led the team with five hits, while providing two of his team’s four takeaways.
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Bruins Lines
Pavel Zacha– Matt Poitras-David Pastrnak
Brett Harrison–Morgan Geekie-Riley Duran
Cole Kopke-Mark Kastelec-Tyler Johnson
Trevor Kuntar-John Farinacci-Marc McLaughlin
Cole Kopke-Mark Kastelec-Tyler Johnson
Nikita Zadorov-Charle McAvoy
Drew Bavaro-Ian Mitchell
Michael Callahan–Parker Wotherspoon
30 Brandon Bussi
What’s next?
After a scheduled day off on Friday, the Bruins return to action with a Saturday night exhibition game in Philadelphia against the Flyers..
