Despite an abysmal preseason so far, encouraging lineup changes appear to be on the horizon for the New York Rangers as they approach the start of the regular season. The Rangers’ top prospects, Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle, have been performing well with a couple of points each, while some of the other forwards appear to be struggling to find their footing.
The Rangers started the preseason against the Bruins with a 3-0 shutout loss, as they were unable to solve the B’s prospect goalie Brandon Bussi. A preseason loss like this makes sense as the Blueshirts only played four of last year’s starters, and the score doesn’t demonstrate the impact some of the prospects made on the game. Defenseman Connor Mackey had a strong first game with three blocked shots and three hits. Forward Will Cuylle also had three hits along with two shots, showing his versatility in the left wing position. Despite racking up the most ice time of all the forwards, Alexis Lafreniere went scoreless and statless besides three shots, only one of which was on net. The pressure is on for him going into the regular season, because if he doesn’t start to perform, he will likely be traded at the deadline to make room for some of the prospects that are outplaying him. In terms of goalies, Louis Domingue posted an eight-save shutout in his 30 minutes of play, while Jonathan Quick let up three goals in his first appearance as a New York Ranger.
Two days later, the Rangers bounced back with a 4-2 win over the Islanders at home. Kaapo Kakko and Chris Kreider both scored in the game, while newcomers Tyler Pitlick and Blake Wheeler added the other two goals. Pitlick totalled five hits, demonstrating an aggressiveness the Rangers have been missing since trading away Ryan Reaves last season. Brennan Othmann made his first preseason appearance in the game, throwing two hits and posting a +2 plus/minus. Eric Gustafsson, one of the Rangers’ biggest free agent signings, assisted Pitlick’s goal and showed his talent on both sides of the puck with two blocked shots. Against an Islanders’ team that played most of their top players, Blueshirt goalie prospect Dylan Garand made 11 saves on 12 shots, and Igor Shesterkin made 10 saves on 11 shots. It wasn’t a cohesive performance from the Rangers, but in the preseason, new coach Peter Laviolette is just looking for the best players to put on the roster.
In a rematch of the first round of the playoffs last season, the Rangers played their third preseason game against the New Jersey Devils. The prospects and new additions showed off their talent once again: Othmann scored his first goal of the preseason, and Will Cuylle assisted Gustafsson’s early goal. The Rangers’ mainstays on defense, K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider, tallied assists. Despite the young talent carrying the team, they fell to the Devils 3-2. In their fourth preseason game, they lost once again, but Cuylle and Othmann both scored goals in the 5-3 tilt. Star forward Artemi Panarin played his first preseason game but gave the puck away twice, and was on the ice for three opposing goals. Dylan Garand put up another half-game shutout while Quick let up four goals on 25 shots. The last two games made it clear that the young talent on the team will be important for progression this year, after they failed to reach the Stanley Cup Finals for the past two seasons.
If Othmann and Cuylle don’t make the roster after their performances in the beginning of the preseason, it would be shocking. Laviolette should be willing to send underperforming veterans to the bench or to the AHL to make room for the new talent, which is something the Rangers have made the mistake of not doing in the past. The veteran signings, Wheeler, Pitlick and Nick Bonino, are starting to become questionable considering the young talent coming up. The defensive signings make sense, as Gustafsson will probably slot in alongside Schneider, and Quick will likely be the backup goalie, but it’s not easy to predict how the forward lines will shake out.
The Rangers look forward to another game against the Devils on Wednesday and will see the Bruins again on Thursday to close out the preseason. They’ll start the regular season in Buffalo on October 12 against the best-looking Sabres team in recent years. The Stanley Cup window is still open for the Blueshirts, but suppressing the young talent would force that window closed in the next couple of seasons.
