Rangers Close out Preseason with 5-2 Loss
With New York Rangers Preseason play now over, let's take a look at three key takeaways following the Rangers' final game of the preseason which was a 5-2 loss against the New York Islanders.
The Rangers can now turn their focus to games that count in the standings.
The New York Rangers suffered a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday in the last of their six preseason games. The boys in Blue is that the team that dressed last night is largely the same one that will suit up in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, when they open the regular season against the Penguins.
The only potential major change that could come to the lineup is if All-Star forward Artemi Panarin is able to play after missing the game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury sustained Tuesday in a 5-4 preseason win over the New Jersey Devils.
Flashing back to the present, let's take a look at three key takeways from the Rangers' final preseason game.
1. Roster Decisions Await
“We’re going to go back and we’ll talk [Saturday],”Peter Laviolette said after the game. “I think we’ve got a pretty good idea on where we’re going, but the coaches will talk. I’ll meet with [general manager] Chris [Drury], and we’ll make sure that we get the right guys going into the season.”
With preseason now over, Laviolette and his assistants have some decisions to make.
Up front, everyone must be hoping that Panarin, a 120-point scorer last season, will get over his second lower-body injury of the preseason quickly. If he doesn’t, Othmann could snag a spot. Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle look like they’ll form a solid third line. The fourth line is a but up in the air, as Jimmy Vesey recuperates from a lower-body injury, though Brodzinski and Adam Edstrom seem to have locked down the 12th and 13th forward roles, in one form or another.
Zac Jones appears to have locked up the third-pair role on defense that opened when Erik Gustafsson left for the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent. But with Lindgren out, the spot opposite Fox is still undecided.
2. Shesterkin Ready to Go
Igor Shesterkin allowed five goals on 38 shots, a less-than-sterling save percentage of .868. What the numbers don’t show is that Shesterkin was the only reason the Rangers were within a goal of tying the game against the Islanders on Friday.
This was Shesty's only full game of the preseason; he played pieces of two others. While the Rangers didn’t have many things to be happy about Friday, Shesterkin’s play was certainly a highlight.
3. Final Training Camp Roster
By the end of preseason play, the Rangers had 30 players remaining in Training Camp. The roster breakdown is as follows:
Forwards (18): Brett Berard, Jonny Brodzinski, Sam Carrick, Filip Chytil, Will Cuylle, Adam Edstrom, Bo Groulx, Kaapo Kakko, Ryder Korczak, Chris Kreider, Alexis Lafreniere, Brennan Othmann, Artemi Panarin, Matt Rempe, Reilly Smith, Vincent Trocheck, Jimmy Vesey, Mika Zibanejad
Defensemen (10): Adam Fox, Zac Jones, Ryan Lindgren, Connor Mackey, Victor Mancini, K’Andre Miller, Matthew Robertson, Chad Ruhwedel, Braden Schneider, Jacob Trouba
Goaltenders (2): Jonathan Quick, Igor Shesterkin
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A 4-2 record with eight points was how the Rangers closed out their preseason. They were also tied for first in the Metropolitan Division which is nothing to be ashamed of. Time will only tell how they transition this to regular-season play.
The regular season kicks off when the Rangers travel to Pittsburgh to take on the Penguins on Wednesday, Oct. 9th. The regular season home opener is slated for Saturday, Oct. 12 when Madison Square Garden hosts the new Utah franchise.