NEW YORK ‒ The Rangers remained undefeated through three preseason games with Thursday's 5-2 win over the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden, and while the exhibition wasn't quite as eventful as Tuesday's 6-4 comeback victory over the Isles, it was a more complete overall effort from the Blueshirts.

Here are three takeaways from a contest that New York controlled from start to finish:

An improved Brennan Othmann

Brennan Othmann didn't sound thrilled with his first two preseason appearances, which both featured flashes of his potential but also overzealous moments and shifts in which he never seemed to touch the puck.

He sought to change that Thursday.

"We did some video this morning, and it was just talking about moving my feet and being confident in my plays − the plays I can make with the puck, and without the puck even," he said.

A prime example came with 35 seconds to play in the first period.

The 21-year-old forward raced to pressure Bruins defenseman Nikita Zadorov, who fumbled a bouncing puck as he tried to play it along the boards, with Othmann quickly turning that takeaway into a breakaway. He ended the play with a forehand finish past goalie Brandon Bussi for his first goal of the preseason, giving one of the Rangers' top prospects a moment to feel good about.

"Over the years, I've been criticized about my defensive game a lot," he said. "When I was in Hartford last year, my main goal was to really focus on that. I really did think it got better. ... That just kind of goes to show that I'm really putting forth the effort to work on my defense, my D zone, and being able to flex out at an experienced defenseman like Zadorov there is just confidence in myself that I'm able to do that."

Head coach Peter Laviolette has stressed wanting to see consistency from all of the young players vying to make an impression, Othmann included, and he saw more of it on Thursday.

The maturation process is ongoing − Othmann's second-period icing directly led to D-zone faceoff and a Boston goal from Mark Kastelic − and he remains a longshot to make the team out of a camp due to a crowded top nine, but the groundwork is being laid for a potential in-season recall.

"Everyone that's trying to make the team, or trying to make an impact, in a sense, has a little bit of nerves," said Othmann, who finished with a goal and an assist while looking much more decisive in his movements. "I've been here for, I don't know, maybe three weeks, almost a month now, so I'm getting used to everything again. I'm used to the players, all the NHL veterans and Lavi's systems and everything now, too. I'm just going to take a day-by-day, move forward and see what happens in the coming days."

D competition

This was a chance for a couple defensemen who are vying to replace the injured Ryan Lindgren to step forward, with mixed results.

Connor Mackey didn’t particularly stand out and got beat by Brett Harrison for the Bruins' first goal, although the blame doesn't fall solely on him after an Adam Fox turnover put him in a tough spot. He finished with one hit, one blocked shot and two missed shot attempts in 15:39 time on ice, plus five penalty minutes for fighting Kastelic.

It was telling that Laviolette gave the 28-year-old the first crack at playing in Lindgren's usual spot on the top pair, but the competition feels like it's far from over. Expect to see Ben Harpur and Chad Ruhwedel get reps there in the coming days.

"I thought he was moving the puck well," Laviolette said of Mackey. "He was physical."

Meanwhile, Victor Mancini continues to impress.

He was whistled for a holding penalty in the third period, but once again looked stout while closing plays quickly and winning several puck battles. The 22-year-old jumped in offensively a couple times, as well, and finished with two shots on three attempts.

“It starts in the defensive zone," Mancini said before the game. "I take pride in shutting plays down, playing a tough, physical game (and) being able to win pucks. And then I feel like my vision is a strong part of my game, so using my vision to break out my team and kind of starting the offense in our defensive zone, getting the puck into the forwards hands. And then the offensive side, being able to join that second layer and find open areas."

He's a pretty cool story as a player who went undrafted in his first year of eligibility but caught the Rangers' eye and ended up being a fifth-round pick in 2022 at the age of 20. The 6-foot-3, 215-pounder's development has accelerated since then, putting him on the radar as a legitimate NHL prospect who keeps adding layers to his game.

Mancini remains most likely to begin the season with AHL Hartford, but there's no doubt that he's moving up the depth chart and positioning himself for an NHL shot sooner than later.

"That's obviously what I wanted to do coming into camp, is make a good impression," he said. "I'm just kind of sticking to the grind and just letting my play speak for itself."

Kaapo Kakko gets aggressive

The Will Cuylle-Filip Chytil-Kaapo Kakko line didn't register a goal Thursday, but their collective effort was felt.

They outshot the Bruins, 6-3, and out-attempted them, 12-4, with an 89.82% xGF that registered as the best of any trio. Kakko led the team with seven shots on goal in his most aggressive game yet.

"He's working," Laviolette said of Kakko. "You can see that he's competing out there. I really like the line. It's two games now they've been together, and they work together in practice. They're big bodies, they can move. They're all capable of generating and all a little bit different with the way they play the game. But I thought they've done a good job. I thought Kaap had a good game tonight. He was noticeable."

Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.

This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 3 takeaways from another Rangers' preseason win over the Bruins