It’s a good thing for the New York Rangers that preseason games don’t count. If they did, new coach Mike Sullivan would have been furious after watching his team blow a three-goal lead in the third period and lose 5-4 in overtime to the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night.
The 16,149 fans who welcomed the Rangers to the Garden for their first preseason game couldn’t be blamed thinking this one was in the bag after 40 minutes. Two days after a three-goal second period helped them beat the New Jersey Devils 5-3 in their preseason opener, the Rangers got second-period goals by Gabe Perreault, Sam Carrick and Vladislav Gavrikov to grab a 4-1 lead after 40 minutes.