Rangers fall apart late, lose 3-0 to Bruins in disappointing season opener

The New York Rangers suffered a 3-0 defeat to the Boston Bruins in their disappointing season opener at TD Garden on Tuesday night. Despite an impressive performance by goaltender Igor Shesterkin, who faced his first shot of the new season early and had to deflect a shot from Pavel Zacha, the Rangers could not prevent the loss. Boston controlled the majority of the play, and the Bruins broke the scoreless tie with 3:46 left in the third period when Fraser Minten scored.

Just 46 seconds later, newcomer J.J. Peterka added another goal, capitalizing on a poor change that led to Schneider breaking up the play and beating Shesterkin through the legs. Peterka's second goal, coupled with Mark Kastelic's empty-net goal shortly after, sealed the Bruins' 11th consecutive opening-night win, tying the NHL record set by the Montreal Canadiens from 1953-64.

This marked the second consecutive year the Rangers opened with a shutout loss, following last season's 3-0 defeat at Madison Square Garden by the Pittsburgh Penguins. The Rangers, who began the season on the road for an NHL-record 69th time, now have a record of 42-44-1 with 15 ties on opening night. Coach Mike Sullivan reached the 1,000-game milestone in his 513th win, 351st loss, and 121st tie, becoming the 33rd coach (and third American) to achieve this mark.