New York Rangers: Good Things Displayed in Preseason Opener
The New York Rangers hit home ice Monday for their first campaign of the 2017-18 preseason. Former players showed improvement and new prospects showed promise as the Rangers handled the cross-town rival Islanders 1-0.
I know. It is only the first game of the preseason, but Monday night showed some things that New York Rangers fans can be excited about come October, as the Blueshirts downed the New York Islanders 1-0 in overtime.
The New York Rangers dominated the Islanders in all areas of the contest, as they outshot them by more than double, 42-17, and won in the face-off circle handily, 33-20, which bodes well for the big question at center coming into the season.
The question of the mystery center seems to have been answered, as head coach Alain Vigneault has decided to use J.T. Miller as the Rangers’ fourth centerman.
Miller played admirably as he generated four shots on goal and had a face-off win percentage of 70.6%.
I like this decision a lot and think it gives the Rangers more of a foundation down the middle as opposed to throwing a rookie into the mix and banking on him to deliver. Miller has had more than enough NHL experience and is at the point in his career where he should burst.
The other big focus points of the game were the play of rookies Lias Andersson, Boo Nieves, and Neal Pionk, who scored the game-winning goal at 2:31 in overtime with a beautiful spin move on Brock Nelson that resulted in a precise shot past goaltender Eamon McAdam’s glove.
Pionk, a Minnesota-Duluth product that signed with the Rangers this offseason, shined in his debut in blue, as he tied for the most shots on goal with four, and the only player with more ice time than him was captain Ryan McDonagh.
He showed abilities on the blue line that the Rangers value such as shiftiness and a good defenseman in the transition game. He also showcased the offense he can produce.
We can all say that the Rangers’ coaching staff will have no problems filling six spots with competent defensemen this year. With a very formidable top four in McDonagh, Kevin Shattenkirk, Brady Skjei, and Brendan Smith, and an extra five to choose from to fill the last two spots in Marc Staal, Nick Holden, Anthony DeAngelo, Steven Kampfer, and Pionk, that complaint has officially been put to rest.
Both Andersson and Nieves, who are both in contention of making the team, assisted on the game-winning goal. Heading into the game, they were probably the two players people were most interested to see on NHL ice.
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Andersson, the player the Rangers made big sacrifices to get, showed his versatility and that he is certainly able to play with the big boys, as he worked the corners and was able to show his ability to work as a two-way center. He also found success in the face-off circle going 68% on the night.
Nieves showed major improvements as well. He used his big body to his advantage and also made offensive plays.
The newly-acquired DeAngelo also impressed as he displayed his physical abilities in working corners as well as the offense he is capable of generating, racking up four shots and showing he is a competent puck-mover on the power play.
The power play looked immensely better, as that was arguably the biggest weakness of last season’s woes.
Antti Raanta’s replacement, Ondrej Pavelec was solid as he stopped all ten shots he faced before giving the cage to third-stringer Magnus Hellberg, who stopped all seven of the shots he dealt with.
Although the Islanders didn’t really test either of them much, they didn’t give us anything to criticize.
Next: Can Lias Andersson Impact the Rangers Already?
Although it was only a lousy exhibition game, the new Rangers additions gave us something to feel good about heading into the season. It will be interesting to keep watching these young players as the preseason continues.
The New York Rangers look to have another solid showing and showcase some more players Wednesday night back home at the Garden against the New Jersey Devils at 7 pm.