In their second preseason game, the New York Rangers lost 5-4 to the Boston Bruins last week to a packed house at Madison Square Garden.

For 40 minutes, the Rangers ran the rink before surrendering three goals in the third period and another in overtime, with Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov scoring the winning point off an assist from Marat Khusnutindov.

The loss is their first of the preseason as the Rangers welcome new head coach Mike Sullivan, replacing Peter Laviolette. Sullivan, a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Pittsburgh Penguins, signed a five-year deal in May, worth $6.5 million annually, the highest contract for an NHL coach, according to The Athletic.

Sullivan is tasked with getting the 100-year-old franchise back on track after the team missed the playoffs last season. Last month, J.T. Miller became the new captain of a roster bolstered by offseason acquisitions like veteran forward Sam Carrick and defenseman Vladislav Gavrikov, in addition to a slew of young prospects challenging for regular playing time.

For the Bruins and the Rangers — both teams having celebrated a centennial — it started off as anyone’s game.

Midway through the first period, Boston’s Matěj Blümel scored a goal, but the Rangers’ Trey Fix-Wolansky evened the game less than a minute later. Gabe Perreault’s shot gave the Rangers a 2-1 lead in the second period.

But everything changed in the third. Bruins’ Michael Eyssimont led the comeback by sticking a shorthanded goal. Four minutes later he scored again, this time assisted by Jordan Harris. With just over a minute left, Khusnutdinov tied the game off an assist from Eyssimont, forcing overtime, where in a 3-on-3 play, Zadorov cemented Boston’s victory.

Harlan McLaughlin sat two rows behind the net and attends about 15 games a year, often with his daughter. McLaughlin, who moved from the south 26 years ago, began following the Rangers because “they were on the cable network that we had in Texas,” he said. “They had the New York station, and they carried the games.”

When it comes to the upcoming season, McLaughlin is still hopeful. “It’s a chance to do better than last year.” With luck, he’ll see a repeat of a favorite Rangers memory — “the ’94 playoffs,” he said, which was the last time the Rangers won the Stanley Cup.

There were Boston fans at the game too with sparse pockets of black-and-yellow shirted Bruins fans peppering the arena. A group of four, in town from Czechia, were there to see their first game in the U.S. During the pre-game warmup, they enthusiastically waved a Czech flag as the Bruins took shots at the net until a security guard made them stop. “We have a no-flag policy,” he told the group.

But that didn’t stop their excitement.

“We won last year’s World Championship,” said Olga Kadlecova, referring to Czechia winning gold at the 2024 International Ice Hockey Federation’s world championship.

This year, among international players in the NHL, Czechia ranks sixth with 29, according to QuantHockey, a hockey statistics website. In 2022, ESPN reported that the Bruins roster had more Czech players than any other team in the league. This year there are three.

Despite the loss, the Rangers younger roster showed promise for the season. Perreault, only 20, scored his second goal of the preseason. Leading the Rangers in points against the Bruins was 22-year-old Noah Laba, who contributed two assists.