Bruins Start Strong but Fall to Rangers in Preseason Action

BOSTON - Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand, and David Pastrnak all scored in the first period, but the Bruins fell to the New York Rangers, 4-3, in overtime on Saturday night in an exhibition contest at TD Garden. Here are some notes and observations from the loss:

Studnicka Looks Strong Again

Jack Studnicka got another chance to center Taylor Hall and Craig Smith and, once again, looked right at home between the two dynamic wingers. The 22-year-old pivot has played well through three preseason contests but said he is not thinking about whether he has done enough to crack Boston's Opening Night lineup. He did acknowledge, however, that he hopes his play will require the Bruins' brass to make a difficult decision.
"I mean that's my goal," Studnicka said of making the big club. "At the end of the day, I'm not going to worry about that, I'm just going to play hockey and put my best foot forward, which obviously there's always room for improvement. But, up until this point, I'd say I'm satisfied with majority of my hockey and then there's so much room to grow no matter who you are. So, I'm always going to be looking to improve but hopefully there's some conversations that are being had."
Studnicka picked up a secondary assist on Marchand's shorthanded tally in the first period and notched a team-high four shots on goal (tied with Charlie McAvoy and Taylor Hall) in 18:03 of ice time against the Rangers.
"I'm trying to simplify, and then offensive production comes with that," said Studnicka, who also collected a goal and an assist against the Rangers in New York on Tuesday night. "That's the plan for me and then maybe try some more things that I think I can make happen out there.
"But, for now it's about building trust between me and [Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy]. So, just trying to play an honest game, a straight-line game, play good defense for the wingers I'm playing with, and when the opportunity arises try to make a play happen."

Cassidy was not ready to say that Studnicka has solidified a spot on Boston's roster, but acknowledged that finding him a place in the top-nine is something the coaching staff and front office will have to consider as Opening Night approaches.
"We will have to look at that in a few days," said Cassidy. "It is going to be a numbers game as well. For him to go in the middle of the ice, he is going to have to outplay Bergy, [Charlie] Coyle and [Erik] Haula or we've got to move somebody, so there's some difficult decisions to make.
"We just asked him to play the best of his ability. He's playing with two good wingers that can score and create offense, so make sure you're the guy that's taking care of business away from the puck as well, and I like that part. He's been a more responsible player.
"Today he attacked a little more, shot the puck. He's starting to buy into that philosophy as well, so he's doing what's asked, which is a good thing, and we will sort through it at the end, but I don't want to say that he's ahead of someone or not, because we've got some veteran guys there."

Ullmark Working Out the Kinks

The Bruins built a 3-1 lead in the first period and led by one following 20 minutes, but New York tied the game on a shorthanded tally with 8:55 remaining in the third. The Rangers then won it in overtime on a blunder by Linus Ullmark, who took a long pass from Pastrnak during the 3-on-3 session and tried to force a pass back up the wall.
Rangers forward Alex Lafreniere stepped in front of the attempt and sneaked a backhander by Ullmark for the win.
"He just made a mistake," said Cassidy. "Their player made a good play to not give up on it. If he gets it by that player, obviously, it's a 3-on-2. I'd have to look at it closer to see where everyone else was, but you expect him to move it past or hold onto it if they're in a change to make a play to one of our guys coming back.
"You want to keep puck possession in that situation to not let them change, so maybe Pasta, if he revisits it, would skate it back himself and wait for another outlet and then change."
Overall, Ullmark made 15 saves on 19 shots in his first full game action of the preseason. The newly signed netminder also made 11 stops on 13 shots in New York on Tuesday night in his exhibition debut.
"Well, it needs work," Cassidy said of Ullmark's game. "Little bit of a tougher game to play tonight. I thought territorially, we were good…the first goal, kind of a bang-bang play; our center got caught a little high, we had three high there, not able to recover. So, a little bit of a fortunate bounce, breakaway.
"All in all, it's preseason for him as well. Right now, I'm sure he'd be the first to tell you, he needs some more reps, and he'll get more reps, and we'll see where he's at after the Washington game [on Wednesday]."

Top of the Line

The Bruins' first line of Bergeron, Marchand, and Pastrnak appears to be in prime shape ahead of the regular season with all three striking for highlight-reel caliber tallies in the first period.
Pastrnak got it started when he rifled home a one-timer from his patented spot at the left-wing circle off a feed from Bergeron on the power play just 2:39 into the contest, before Bergeron cashed in on a one-timer of his own off a beautiful drop pass from Mike Reilly at 5:04 of the first.
Marchand finished the flurry with a sparkling shorthanded goal after corralling a lofted Brady Lyle feed through the neutral zone. The marker gave Boston a 3-1 lead with 6:32 left in the first.