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How important is this year’s preseason for the New York Rangers?

By Travis Novak

NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 23: New York Rangers Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) kicks a shot just wide of the net during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on February 23, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - FEBRUARY 23: New York Rangers Goalie Alexandar Georgiev (40) kicks a shot just wide of the net during the third period of the National Hockey League game between the New Jersey Devils and the New York Rangers on February 23, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Joshua Sarner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 18: Nathan Bastian #42 of the New Jersey Devils sends a shot wide of Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden on September 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – SEPTEMBER 18: Nathan Bastian #42 of the New Jersey Devils sends a shot wide of Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers during the first period at Madison Square Garden on September 18, 2019 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

Is the 2019-20 New York Rangers preseason more valuable than recent years?

The 2019-20 preseason hasn’t gotten off to a good start for the New York Rangers who have lost both of their games against the New Jersey Devils.    While many fans take to the internet to show their frustration, its it’s more important to focus on what to take away from each game rather than the outcome. This preseason however seems to have given us something more exciting and valuable to look forward to especially with starting the Rangers vs Devils cross river rivalry right out of the gate.

In game one of a home and home with the New Jersey Devils, the starting line up for the Rangers featured an unexpected yet fully packed set of lines that had fans excited and ready to see what their new stars and high touted prospects were all about. Of course, the line that stood out  was the first line consisting of Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad and number two overall pick Kaapo Kakko. What is interesting to note is that prior to the first game, coach David Quinn announced that Pavel Buchnevich would start on the first line with both Zibanejad and Panarin.

The game started off fast for the Devils who would jump out to a two goal lead in the first period and never trailed, winning 4-3.  Some positives from the match were goals that came from Artemi Panarin, Lias Andersson and Micheal Haley with assists coming from key players such as Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov and Boo Nieves. One negative however was that Panarin ended up leaving the game in the second period with a mild groin strain. Quinn later stated it was more precautionary than serious.

Game two had a similar outcome but this time it was number one overall pick Jack Hughes who would capitalize on a Rangers turnover and score five hole on a breakaway dual between Hughes and Henrik Lundqvist in the first minute of the game. Once again the Devils took this lead and ran with it. The New York Rangers would lose the game 4-2 with goals from Vladislav Namestnikov and Brett Howden.

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