Although Mike Sullivan defended the New York Rangers‘ lines to face the Boston Bruins, that didn’t stop the head coach from calling out the players for their mistakes in opening night of the 2026-27 NHL campaign.
In every NHL locker room, different personalities coexist. That also means there are different ways players and coaches react to losses. Even captains and managers may approach losses differently. While J.T. Miller avoided overreacting after the loss to the Bruins, Sullivan didn’t necessarily overreact, but he did call out errors and put the Rangers on the spot.
“We turned pucks over in the wrong areas of the rink,” Sullivan said after the game, via Mollie Walker of the New York Post. “I thought we were trying to play a little bit too much east-west, instead of simplifying, and playing straight ahead.
“We were standing on pucks instead of moving our feet. When you stand on pucks, the world closes in on you out there. We try to encourage the guys to move our feet. I think that’s a discipline that we’ve got to develop.”
Mike Sullivan of the New York Rangers.
Rangers’ giveaways lead to goals
It was a common trend all night long. The Rangers managed to survive until late in the third period, but eventually, repeatedly shooting themselves in the foot led to disaster. In fact, both of the goals the Bruins scored past Igor Shesterkin (the third goal was on an empty net) came off turnovers by the Rangers in the neutral zone.
Fraser Minten broke the deadlock with 3:46 left in regulation. That play started with a turnover in the neutral zone. Defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov lifted a puck out of the D-zone and into center ice, but it was intercepted, leading to a fast break for Minten, who shot from a distance to beat Shesterkin on the blocker side.
Less than a minute later, Mika Zibanejad turned over the puck at the end of his shift in the neutral zone again. J.J. Peterka embarrassed Braden Schneider with a nifty move, and he beat Shesterkin five-hole. That was all she wrote for the Rangers. Not only did their reckless puck management cost them, but it was their top forward and top-pair defenseman who were responsible for the errors.
The decisive factor
Otherwise, the game had been evenly matched in every aspect. New York finished the night with 24 shots against Boston’s 23. Both sides committed only one minor penalty and went scoreless on their lone power-play attempts. Faceoff wins were split evenly, 50-50, both had four takeaways each, and New York had just a handful fewer blocked shots than Boston.
The main difference aside from the scoreboard? The Rangers gave away the puck 20 times, while the Bruins had only 10 giveaways. That, in turn, explains the 3-0 difference in the final score.
Key takeaways
- Mike Sullivan criticized the NY Rangers for turning over the puck after a 3-0 loss.
- Fraser Minten broke the deadlock with 3:46 left in regulation.
- The Rangers committed 20 giveaways compared to just 10 by the Bruins.
