NY Rangers Unravel Late, Lose Season Opener to Bruins

Sep 29, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center Morgan Geekie (39) tries to gain control of the puck in front of New York Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin (31) during the first period at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: Bob DeChiara-Imagn Images IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

NY Rangers Unravel Late, Lose Season Opener to Bruins

Originally posted on New York Rangers On SI
By Nick Ziegler | Last updated Sep 29, 2026 10:50 PM ET

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With the puck dropping on Tuesday night in Boston, the season officially is underway for the New York Rangers.

Coming off a busy summer, it was great to see the Rangers back out on the ice in their season-opener. With the offseason being condensed, New York wasn’t super sharp, but that isn’t overly surprising.

In the first period, as expected, it wasn’t the cleanest of starts for the Rangers. With the condensed offseason, it is going to take time for teams to get crisp. For New York especially, they have a lot of new players, and it is going to take time to gel.

While there wasn’t a ton of action, it was the Bruins who did play a bit better. Giveaways were an issue for the Rangers in the first period.

Even though things might have been a bit quiet in the first period, the game certainly opened up in the first 10 minutes of the second period. The Bruins found some excellent momentum in the period with three great opportunities. With one of those chances going off the post, New York was fortunate not to be trailing at this point.

For the rest of the period, the action was pretty even with the Rangers getting a bit better. However, the play of Shesterkin to keep this game 0-0 after two periods was very impressive.

Things Fall Apart in the Third

IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

To start the third period, the Rangers had arguably their best stretch of the game with some good looks and some nice pressure. At the midway point in the period, the Bruins were able to ring their second shot off the post.

While it was Boston who was in control of expected goals for most of the night, New York was able to close the gap in the third period.

After struggling to get through the neutral zone, the Bruins were able to capitalize on a bit of a mistake by the Rangers. Fraser Minten ripped a shot past Igor Shesterkin from the slot to give Boston the lead.

Shortly after that, JJ Peterka made a great move past Braden Schneider to score the second goal of the game for the Bruins. The Rangers would pull Shesterkin, and it didn’t take long for Boston to add their third goal of the game.

Overall, New York was outplayed for most of the game, but did have some good moments, and this felt winnable at times. However, in the last couple of minutes of the third period, things unraveled, resulting in a 3-0 loss.

Next up for the Rangers will be a day off before they have their home opener against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday night.

This article first appeared on New York Rangers On SI and was syndicated with permission.

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