With the New York Rangers finishing up their preseason games, they now look forward to next Thursday, Oct. 11, when they open their season in Buffalo against the Sabres. Overall, this was a preseason to forget for the Rangers. They finished with a 1-5-0 record and lost their last four games in a row. While this wasn’t what the team or fans wanted to see before the regular season started, there were some positives to take away from these games, but there were also negatives as well. Let’s take a look at some of those takeaways and see what fans can look forward to and what needs to be improved on going into the regular season.
Positive: The Play of Will Cuylle & Brennan Othmann
The two players who stood out the most for the Rangers were two of their top forward prospects, Will Cuylle and Brennan Othmann. These two players were fighting for roster spots the most during training camp. Since there were not many available spots on the Rangers, they needed to work the hardest to show the coaching staff and management that they were ready to start the season in the NHL. Both players scored two goals each in the preseason and were also noticeable when they didn’t have the puck. They were even more noticeable than some of the top players like Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin. Both had great showings during these games and the question now is, do one, both, or neither of them make the team to start the season?
As of this writing, Othmann was sent down to the American Hockey League (AHL) to play with the Hartford Wolfpack. However, Cuylle is still with the team and it looks like he might get a shot to start the season with the Rangers due to injuries to Filip Chytil and Tyler Pitlick. He could be a good fit in the bottom-six and brings more of a scoring touch than other players who play in those roles. He scored 25 goals last season in the AHL and he has shown he is not afraid to go to the net to score goals. Cuylle deserves a shot to start the season in the NHL and if it doesn’t work out, he can always be sent down to the AHL and come back up in case of injuries.
Negative: Poor Play of Johnathan Quick & Alexis Lafreniere
Two players who had very underwhelming preseason performances were Jonathan Quick and Alexis Lafreniere. Starting with Quick, he was brought in to be the backup to Igor Shesterkin this season and if his performances during the regular season look anything like they did in the preseason, the Rangers are going to regret not signing Jaroslav Halak again. Quick did not win any of the games that he played in and allowed 11 goals on 57 shots. We knew his play was going to be questionable as he has been on the decline for the past few seasons and it was a questionable signing for the Rangers to make. If he can’t turn his play around, the Rangers are going to have to look for another goalie elsewhere.
Related: Takeaways From Rangers Loss To The Devils
Now for Lafreniere, this preseason was the chance to show his doubters that his game had improved and that he had earned his spot playing in the top-six for the Rangers. However, he did not show any of that in the four games that he played in. He was hardly noticeable compared to the other players who were fighting for a roster spot. He had zero points and wasn’t an offensive threat at all. The only times he was noticeable was when he was on the ice for goals against and was making defensive mistakes. While performance in the preseason isn’t the end all be all, it was concerning to see that Lafreniere did not stand out against lower competition. He really needs to kick it into a new gear if he wants to stay in the top-six for the majority of the season.
Negative: Special Teams Were Abysmal
The Rangers for the past few seasons have been a great team when they are on the power-play and penalty kill. During the preseason, they were horrible at both. They only scored one power-play goal on the 21 attempts that they had. This is good for last place in the NHL during the preseason. For a team that has relied on the power play heavily for the past two seasons, that is a cause for concern. The penalty kill was not any better. They went six for 15 on the penalty kill and it seemed that they were allowing a power-play goal each game. It was truly a problem when they allowed the New Jersey Devils to score three goals on four power play attempts at the time. The Rangers are learning new systems under a new head coach, so it makes sense for them to be struggling. But, they need to turn it around in a week’s time because these numbers will not cut it during the regular season.
While the preseason isn’t always a sign of what’s to come during the regular season, it is good to learn from the mistakes and also build on the positives. The Rangers are going to be an interesting team to watch this season and it is going to be fascinating to see how quickly they can learn and adapt to their new coach and new systems.
