Juuso Parssinen is one of the Rangers' rare goal-scorers this season
New York Rangers center Juuso Parssinen is greeted by teammates after scoring against the New York Islanders during the first period of a preseason NHL hockey game at UBS Arena on Monday, Sept. 29, 2025. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
BROSSARD, Quebec — Coming off two straight games in which the Rangers were shut out, coach Mike Sullivan tried a couple of tweaks for Thursday’s game against the Toronto Maple Leafs to see if he could get his team to manufacture some goals.
One of those was inserting forward Juuso Parssinen into the lineup, and it paid off. Parssinen scored the Rangers’ only goal in their 2-1 overtime loss to the Maple Leafs.
Parssinen’s goal at 4:51 of the third period ended the Rangers’ goal drought at 170 minutes, 39 seconds — more than eight periods — and tied the score at 1-1, eventually forcing overtime. Toronto's Auston Matthews scored 58 seconds into OT, but the Rangers (2-3-1) earned a point. They are 0-3 at home but have taken five of a possible six points in their three road games.
“It's a huge goal,’’ Sullivan said. “I thought Parse played well. I thought Noah Laba’s line [with Parssinen and Taylor Raddysh] had a solid game . . . The pace of that game was fast, and I thought they handled themselves extremely well. They get a huge goal for us, [and] that's just an example of their willingness to get to the inside.
“So I was happy for Parse, and hopefully that'll be something that will help his confidence moving forward.’’
Scoring a goal, and particularly scoring in the manner he did — going to the front of the net, winning battles there and getting a redirection of Braden Schneider’s shot against Toronto goalie Anthony Stolarz — certainly will help Parssinen’s argument to the coaches that he should be in the lineup more often. But the 24-year-old Finn said he doesn’t believe it’s imperative for him to score in order to play every night.
“No, I don't go into the game thinking I’ve got to score to stay in the lineup,’’ he said after the Rangers practiced Friday at the Montreal Canadiens’ suburban practice rink in preparation for Saturday’s game against the Canadiens at the Bell Centre.
“I don't think that's the reason I am in the lineup, to score goals,’’ he said. “Of course, that's the thing I want to do, and I have to do, a little bit, here and there. But it's not a thing I think about like, 'OK, I didn't score today, I'm going to be scratched tomorrow.' It's more about the consistency, playing hard, playing a good 200-foot game.’’
Parssinen was penciled in at the start of training camp to be the third-line center, but the emergence of Laba in the preseason changed that. The rookie forced his way onto the roster and grabbed the third-line center position, making Parssinen’s role and playing time uncertain.
The Rangers need goals, though, and if Parssinen can chip one in now and again, as he did Thursday, that should help his prospects.
Notes & quotes: D Will Borgen (maintenance) did not practice. Borgen missed practice Wednesday with a lower-body injury but played in Thursday’s game. Sullivan said he expects Borgen to play Saturday . . . With Borgen well enough to play and AHL Hartford playing its home opener Friday night vs. Wilkes-Barre/Scranton, D Connor Mackey was returned to the Wolf Pack . . . D Carson Soucy practiced in a non-contact jersey. He remains on IR and is eligible to return for Monday’s game against Minnesota.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
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