Brennan Othmann scores first p...

The Rangers defeated the Boston Bruins 5-2 in their third preseason games on Thursday night at Madison Square Garden.

Here are some takeaways…

- Connor Mackey received the first opportunity playing on the left side of Adam Fox in place of the injured Ryan Lindgren and he had a bit of an up-and-down night. Boston’s Brett Harrison danced around him after a bad Adam Fox turnover in the first period for a goal. But he did showcase the physicality he could bring to the Rangers’ lineup, dropping the mitts after a tough hit in the corner late in the second period.

- 22-year-old Victor Mancini, on the other hand, enjoyed another nice night as he continues making a strong bid for his roster spot. The former fifth-round pick did take a penalty but he recorded a shot on goal, two hits, and a takeaway while skating alongside Zac Jones.

- Speaking of Jones, he’s another guy who came into camp knowing the opportunity for playing time was there for the taking and he continues to take full advantage of it. Through three preseason games, the young defenseman has all but locked up his spot in the opening night lineup, and with Lindgren sidelined he might see top four minutes to begin the season.

- With most of the regulars playing we got our second look at the new first line consisting of Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, and Reilly Smith. The trio looked very solid and they even netted their first goal of the preseason as Kreider deflected home a Jacob Trouba one-timer from the point.

- Brennan Othmann has been showing off his physicality thus far in the preseason, but we finally got to see some of his offensive potential in this one. The youngster turned on the jets after poking the puck free in the neutral zone, and after making a nice move to the net, he snapped a wrister past Brandon Bussi for his first goal of the preseason.

He made another nice play to take the puck away deep in the offensive zone, then he found Johnny Brodzinski in front, who batted home his own shot out of midair for the Rangers’ fourth goal in the game. Peter Laviolette has been looking for Othmann to showcase some of his offensive skillet and he responded nicely with a two point night.

- Kaapo Kakko put together one of his best games of the preseason to this point, firing a whopping seven shots on goal. He had a couple of opportunities to get himself on the stat sheet for the first time, but each time he could only go back to the bench shaking his head.

Game MVP: Brennan Othmann

The youngster is facing a bit of an uphill climb to an opening night roster spot, but Thursday's two-point effort is certainly the type of showing he needs to get the job done.

Upcoming schedule

The Rangers look to stay undefeated in preseason action when they take on the rival Devils on Monday night at 7:00 p.m. at the Prudential Center.