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New York Rangers Daily Dose: Positional Battles to Watch for

By Patrick Comia

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Happy Thursday, New York Rangers fans. With new players coming on board, it will be interesting to see how the lineup will look like, entering the regular season.

The first two scoring lines, we could probably assume will remain in tact. The combination of Rick Nash, Derick Brassard, and Mats Zuccarello is a pretty safe bet for Alain Vigneault.

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Included in that discussion is the line combination of Chris Kreider and Derek Stepan. However, the ‘wild card’ may be that of the RW. At certain points of last season and the playoffs, a variety of players had their shot at teaming up with the two players.

J.T. Miller, Kevin Hayes, and Jesper Fast, were among candidates who were shuffled into the position. And all three did well. However, neither player could stick around to see it long-term.

Which brings us to our first positional battle to watch for, as we enter training camp next month. Who will emerge as the person to play with Stepan and Kreider for the long-term?

The bottom six forwards of the lineup are pretty much in the air.

The third line could be any combination of players. It’s a plethora of talent that could be the most unpredictable. All three positions: LW, C, and RW are all up for grabs.

Rangers prospect Oscar Lindberg is thought to be making the team this year, after a strong regular and postseason for the Hartford Wolf Pack.

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However, there are newcomers like Emerson Etem and Viktor Stalberg eyeing a place on the Rangers lineup that will force him to work harder, if he is to have a chance.

The center and right wing positions seem a little more manageable, but just need to be determined where they will play.

Potentially, Vigenault could combine Jarret Stoll and Hayes at the two positions. Stoll will improve the team’s face-off chances, and Hayes could move back to the right wing position.

Thus, taking the weight and burden of the center position off his shoulders, and allowing him to concentrate more on his offensive game.

Just like the third line, the fourth line has constants at least two positions.

Veteran Dominic Moore should be the man in the middle again this year. Third-year player Jesper Fast could have a place on the line at right wing. However, we have seen he is capable of doing when called upon to skate on the Stepan line.

His ability to co-exist with he and Kreider, makes him valuable as a diverse player. Fast offers Vigenault a variety of options to be used in any situation. And that’s always a good thing to have, in terms of job security.

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Perhaps, the most talked about player from last year outside of Rick Nash, was Tanner Glass. Many fans could describe him as ‘dead-weight’, an anchor to the team.

However, the head coach continued to put him out there on most nights. It might be time to let go of the Glass experiment and allow others to get a chance with the team.

Glass is not a bad guy. You need a gritty player, to keep the other team in check. However, at times last season, it felt that the position could be better suited for others to get more playing time. That’s where any of the players mentioned above could be have the best opportunity to shine for the Rangers. Not quite a two 6 six talent, but a bottom six, depth player to have.

Looking ahead to training camp next month, it will be interesting to see who raises eyebrows with the coaching staff and what combinations click.

Next: Rangers Would Be Smart To Sign Kreider To An Extension, Soon

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