Will no preseason games hurt the New York Rangers?

No preseason games is bad news for the New York Rangers

To maximize the number of games played for the regular season, the NHL will not be participating in preseason exhibition games. While it’s fair that each of the leagues 31 teams will go into the season cold, this will be a disadvantage to the New York Rangers. With the league’s youngest roster and many positional holes to fill, the Rangers needed as much game action as they could handle.

From January 1, 2020 until the season was suspended on March 11, The New York Rangers boasted the fifth best record in the league (by points and regulation wins). With largely the same roster, the team entered the Stanley Cup Qualifier with high hopes. However, with an abbreviated camp and just one exhibition game, the Rangers were a shell of the team that left the ice when the league suspended play in March. Once play resumed towards the end of July, the team scored all of five goals in four games after scoring 3.35 goals per game during 2020.

The New York Rangers team that skated in Toronto for the Stanley Cup Qualifier had lost it’s momentum. The “warm up” time allowed by the league was simply not enough to get team’s top players back up to their career best speed. By league standards it was fair, but the pause and “mini-camp” was detrimental to the Blueshirts.

Today’s New York Rangers team is younger, less experienced and full of question marks. With the departure of Jesper Fast, the right wing position is up in the air. By trading Marc Staal, the left defense position is looking a bit shallow. Coach David Quinn, in just the first few days of camp has already begun to address these areas of concern.

Kaapo Kakko looks to be replacing Jesper Fast on the second line. This was an early season experiment last year that was quickly abandoned, leaving Kakko to play on the third line. It’s worth noting that during last years preseason, the Kakko and Artemi Panarin connection, especially on the power play, looked electric. But once the regular season started and the opposition was all NHL players, things did not work so well.

To address the lack of top four NHL level left side defensemen, Coach Quinn is looking to Tony DeAngelo. He has played the left side during his development to becoming an NHL’er, so the position is not unfamiliar to him. However, at this level, playing the off-side is more challenging, especially in the defensive end where the player has their backhand against the boards versus the forwards forehand. This may seem a small point, but consider that the Czech’s developed the left wing lock in the 1960’s to gain an advantage on the Soviets.

Additionally, DeAngelo was third among NHL defensemen  in even strength points (34) last season. Can he replicate those numbers against first line competition? Will DeAngelo, criticized for his defensive game, be ready for the challenge of Alexander Ovechkin, Sidney Crosby, Patrice Bergeron, Claude Giroux, etc., on a nightly basis? Will pairing Jacob Trouba with a free-wheeling partner help to find his offense or will it force him to be the stay at home defender of the pair?

The left wing position is a major strength for the New York Rangers. They already boast arguably two of the top ten left wingers in the NHL in Artemi Panarin and Chris Kreider. Add to that pair, first overall pick Alexis Lafrenière and the team is stacked. To find Lafrenière penciled in to the third line is no surprise, but to see Julien Gauthier as the third line right wing raises some questions.

Yes, Gauthier has shown a scoring touch while in the AHL, but he was barely able to crack the line-up while with the Carolina Hurricanes, playing only five games at the start of the season. He would play 12 games with the Rangers, recording two assists. Receiving less than ten minutes of ice-time and fourth line duty his production is not surprising, however, for a big player, recording only 15 hits in 17 games played is a bit concerning.

Quoted from a previous article written here at Blue Line Station

The 2020-21 season will be played with fewer games and a hot start is pivotal to making the playoffs. With a shortened season, there just won’t be enough time to make up for points lost in the early days of the season. Putting players in their best possible position to succeed is critical to getting the team rolling from the get go.  Playing unknown quantities in prominent positions only adds to the question marks that surround the team.

Without preseason exhibition games to test the waters with in-game action, every move is equal to experimentation. Kakko, DeAngelo and Gauthier may be up to the task, but then again, they may not. We are left hoping for the best, but, is that enough? Add to this the possibility of rookies cracking the roster and the familiarity of this Rangers team will be limited to the first line and one defensive pairing.

To be frank, we as fans do not know what we will see opening night. And, in all seriousness, neither does the organization. If we are to look at this season as a stepping stone towards a brighter future, so be it. But, if we are to hope for the playoffs, a 56 game schedule will not forgive a slow start while the team figures things out.