Even though it is still the preseason, Gerard Gallant needed to see a better effort from the Rangers Saturday than he saw in New Jersey Friday night, when the Rangers were non-competitive in a 7-1 loss to the Devils.
"You're not happy about it,’’ Gallant said Saturday morning of Friday’s loss. "I mean nobody was happy about it last night after the game was over. But, it's preseason. You’ve got to move on, you got to get ready for the important date, the first game against Washington (Oct. 13) … Hopefully you get better from that.’’
Gallant got the improved effort he was hoping for as the Rangers beat the Bruins twice Saturday, first winning in overtime, 4-3, on Alexis Lafreniere’s unassisted goal at 1:38 of the 3-on-3 extra period, and then winning a shootout that the teams had agreed beforehand to play, regardless of the overtime outcome.