Tonight is the New York Rangers' penultimate game of the preseason, and fans are happy that the start of the 2025-26 regular season is less than a week away. The Blueshirts are back at Madison Square Garden, and they will take on the New Jersey Devils for the second and final time this preseason.
New York dispatched their Hudson River rival 5-3 last time, and tonight's contest will feature rosters that will closely resemble the ones each team will deploy to start the season. With that said, here are three players to keep an eye on for tonight's contest.
Artemi Panarin
Tonight will mark Panarin's first game action of the preseason. He's been held out on a precautionary basis while he's remained day to day with a lower-body injury, but with the season starting this Tuesday vs. the Pittsburgh Penguins, now's a great time for Panarin to get back on the ice. He's in the final year of his contract, and there remain questions on if and when he will re-sign with the Rangers. Panarin is coming off a season in which he tallied 89 points, good for most players in the league, but a down year by his standards. He is set to play with familiar linemates in Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafrenière, and the hope is that whatever has been ailing him has subsided.
Gabe Perreault
Perreault has dress for each of the Rangers' preseason contests to this point, and has been pretty noticeable in all of them. The budding Blueshirt, formerly of Boston College, has a pair of goals and assists to his name for four points in four games. There's a good chance he will be starting the season in the American Hockey League with the Hartford Wolf Pack, but nothing has been formally decided. It is possible that between Perreault and Noah Laba, only one youngster could make the team to start. The Rangers appear more set down the middle, for now, so that could create a chance for Perreault to steal a spot.
Braden Schneider
This game will mark Schneider's second of the preseason, and it is notable because he had offseason surgery to address to torn labrum he'd been dealing with for several seasons. Schneider is someone the Rangers feel is one of their top four defenders, even though he may not play on one of the top two pairs this season. That said, he's slated to play with Vladislav Gavrikov, and that creates an opportunity. It is all but guaranteed that Adam Fox, who is sitting out tonight, will play with Gavrikov to start the season. However, if Schneider looks good with Gavrikov, it gives Mike Sullivan additional options to consider for the overall depth of the team.