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Excitement in the air ahead of preseason opener

By Andrew Steele-Davis

NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Chris Kreider #20, Mika Zibanejad #93 and Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - MARCH 29: Chris Kreider #20, Mika Zibanejad #93 and Pavel Buchnevich #89 of the New York Rangers celebrate after defeating the St. Louis Blues at Madison Square Garden on March 29, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Jared Silber/NHLI via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 05: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 05, 2019 in New York City. The Blue Jackets defeated the Rangers 3-2 in the shoot-out to gain a playoff position. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – APRIL 05: Artemi Panarin #9 of the Columbus Blue Jackets skates against the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden on April 05, 2019 in New York City. The Blue Jackets defeated the Rangers 3-2 in the shoot-out to gain a playoff position. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Hockey officially returns to Madison Square Garden tonight when the New York Rangers host Hudson River rivals the New Jersey Devils in their preseason opener.

Although only an exhibition game, the fact that we get to see the New York Rangers play an actual game of hockey is reason enough to celebrate and there is tangible excitement in the air ahead of tonight’s matchup.

We’ve covered this many times already over the course of the off-season but we are standing on the precipice of a new era of New York Rangers hockey right now, and it all starts tonight against the Devils in a game that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, but it represents a clean slate and the start of a new chapter in the rich history of this storied franchise.

Has there ever been as much anticipation for a preseason game as there is for tonight’s tilt? I think the answer is a solid no and it wouldn’t shock me if Madison Square Garden is absolutely rocking tonight.

You can be sure that a large chunk of Blueshirt fans would have been persuaded to head to tonight’s game after Kaapo Kakko was confirmed to play, and the No. 2 overall pick in the 2019 NHL Entry Draft will be the headline act.

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There will be a plethora of other storylines to keep an eye out tonight, too, however. Artemi Panarin will pull on a Rangers jersey for the very first time and that will be a very cool moment to witness.

He is an elite player, one of the best talents in the NHL today and tonight will give us the first opportunity to get a glimpse of two thirds of the Rangers’ new top line with Mika Zibanejad also slated to play.

We will also get to see a blueline pairing of Brady Skjei and Jacob Trouba for the very first time, and this has arguably been a combination we have been craving for years.

Trouba hasn’t been shy when it comes to dishing out hits during training camp and there are high expectations for the 25-year-old, who is well on his way to establishing himself as an elite top four defenseman in the NHL.

This is a big season for Skjei too with the blueliner having not quite reached his potential as a Ranger yet but, playing alongside a high-end talent in Trouba could help to fully unlock that talent and that could lead to us seeing the vintage version of Skjei we’ve been craving to see since he was drafted 28th overall in the 2012 NHL Entry Draft.

After a blockbuster off-season that completely changed the narrative surrounding this team and this franchise, it has all been leading up to tonight when the talking can stop and the action can finally begin.

We all know that 2019-20 is going to be another transitional year filled with growing pains and learning curves. We can accept that because we know the end goal and we can see huge strides being made on and off the ice.

As a writer, you want to avoid hyperbole as much as possible but there is no denying that something special is brewing at MSG and tonight is the start of it.

Next. Other players to watch in first preseason game. dark

This year is going to be a journey and it is going to be a hell of a lot of fun to watch it all unfold, no matter what happens.

Elite stars, established veterans and stud prospects – this franchise is trending in the right direction and the long-term ambition to morph into an NHL powerhouse, a dynasty with Stanley Cups to back up its greatness begins tonight and we can’t wait for this new era of New York Rangers hockey to finally get underway.

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