Bruins Wrap: A.J. Greer Leads Boston To Overtime Win Vs. Rangers

The Boston Bruins followed a preseason-opening loss with a 3-2 overtime victory against the New York Rangers at TD Garden on Tuesday.

The Bruins improve to 1-1 in the preseason, while the Rangers fall to 1-1.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins offense, while playing catch up for most of the night, showed a significant amount of fight and resiliency, especially in comparison to Saturday’s loss against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Unlike the preseason opener, the Bruins wouldn’t take nearly three full periods of action to get on the scoreboard, thanks to a dark horse hero.

Rangers defenseman Adam Fox — the 2021 Norris Trophy winner — served as the first offensive aggressor, opening up the game by scoring early with 12:57 left in the first period to set the tone for New York.

Boston would find an offensive response after the first intermission from A.J. Greer, who played just nine games with the New Jersey Devils last season. Greer displayed his first highlight in a Bruins uniform, scoring a goal to even up the score with 14:59 remaining in the second period of the game. The 25-year-old left wing also scored one goal during his two-year tenure with the Devils.

Greer’s goal — unlike the Bruins debut preseason showing — wouldn’t serve as the only one they had to show. During New York’s power play in the third period, the Bruins would even the score up, yet again, courtesy of Oskar Steen — playing crucial in the game going into overtime.

Greer then delivered the game-winner with just 1:12 minutes into the overtime period.

The Bruins finished the night with 34 shots on goal to the Rangers’ 26.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Greer contributed two of three goals of the night from Boston’s side. After getting just one shot on goal during his debut appearance with the Bruins on Saturday against the Flyers, the six-year veteran made his presence felt and left an impression on the ice. Separated by the officials to end the second period, Greer got in the middle of a scuffle with Rangers defenseman Jarred Tinordi.

— Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman saved 18-of-20 shots on goal during his 61:12 minutes on the ice.

— Rangers left wing Alexis Lafrenière scored a go-ahead goal in the second period shortly after Greer got Boston on the board.

WAGER WATCH
DraftKings Sportsbook set the Over/Under of the game’s scoring at 5.5 with -130 on the Under. Both teams combined to come up short. A $100 bet on the Under would have resulted in a $176.92 payout.

UP NEXT ON NESN
The Bruins will continue their preseason play on Saturday against the Philadelphia Flyers for the second time. Puck drop from TD Garden is set for 1 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN+.