The New York Rangers won the preseason debut against the New Jersey Devils at the Prudential Center. There are a few things to look for during a preseason game to learn about a team.
This is stating the obvious, but the regular season and preseason have different feels. Hockey during the preseason has the feel of a pickup basketball game. The best players are going to look leaps and bounds better than the guys who only play occasionally.
Guys like Taylor Hall and Lias Andersson are the players at basketball that rain threes with a hand in their face. On the other hand, Cody McLeod and Eric Tangradi are the players at pickup that are liable to pop a hamstring at anytime and probably will not get in the box score for anything other than a rebound.
As for the Rangers preseason, there should be a few clear goals that can be translated into on ice decisions. The keys to the exhibition season are getting players into a rhythm that can be carried over into the regular season as the foundation for good habits.
In addition to the establishment of good habits, coaches are looking for things that work on the ice and not just in theory. This is the scientist’s laboratory as far as coaching decisions go. Being that there are no consequences, a coach can come out with the kitchen sink and see if they have something to work with come October.
Things to watch for
Line combinations/defensive pairs- The preseason is a consequence free environment to try and develop chemistry amongst players that will definitely be on the team in October. This is a tad tricky because of the split squad system, but still applies for the important players.
Ice time distribution-Dividing the team up into different squads presents the opportunity for lower on the depth chart players to get more ice time against lesser opponents. Neal Pionk, who’s likely a third pair defenseman, led the Rangers in ice time in game one of the preseason.
Elite players shine-This is obvious, but being that there is less overall talent on the ice, the best players will look even better. There’s a reason Chris Kreider always looks like the second coming of Brett Hull against career AHL players every September. Think about how well Lias Andersson played in comparison to the fringe NHL players on the ice.
Goalie minutes- Similar to the minutes allocation mentioned earlier, the backup given the most minutes in the preseason is likely to backup Henrik Lundqvist. Being that Alexandar Georgiev is the incumbent, he’s going to get the lion’s share of the minutes.
Experiments- Chris Kreider killed penalties for the first time in his career. Since the Rangers no longer have Michael Grabner, it’d make sense for another speedster to join the kill in hopes of generating breakaways in open space.
Penalties-Every preseason, the officials call the game tighter than they will in the regular season. Look out for the players who spend all of September in the penalty box as opposed to being on the ice. They will not make the team when the Calendar changes.
Look for these on Wednesday when the Rangers return to action against the Philadelphia Flyers at Madison Square Garden.