NEW YORK – In their first meeting with the New Jersey Devils since last spring’s playoff heartbreaker, the Rangers dropped a 3-2 preseason result Thursday at Madison Square Garden.
Igor Shesterkin was the best player on the ice for the Blueshirts, stopping 20 of the 21 shots he faced in two periods of action. He made some sparkling saves early on when the rest of the team looked a step behind.
Will Cuylle: Prospect positioning himself as next man up
But the goalie is one of the biggest sure things on this roster. Here are three takeaways regarding some pending decisions and individuals trying to make an impression:
Top line remains a work in progress
Thursday represented the first game action of the preseason for Mika Zibanejad, who was pulled from Sunday’s intrasquad scrimmage with a minor upper-body injury but returned to practice the very next day. The Blueshirts’ No. 1 center said they were being “extra cautious,” while joking, “I’m 30 now.”
Getting him back this quickly was an encouraging sign, but the rust was evident. Zibanejad almost predicted it prior to the game when he said, “It’ll be a bit of a shock to the system.” He was the only Ranger to finish with a minus-two rating and looked off on most of his six shot attempts, although he did win 65% (13-for-20) of his faceoffs.
His line wasn’t much better.
For the first week of training camp, it’s looked like Peter Laviolette’s preferred top line consists of Zibanejad, Chris Krieder and Alexis Lafrenière. Prior to the game, the head coach spoke highly of what he’s seen from Lafrenière as he makes the transition from left wing to the right.
“Really responsive, really easy to talk to, really easy to coach,” Laviolette said of the 21-year-old. “He hasn’t come over looking like, ‘Honestly, I just can’t figure out how to get out on the right wing.’ I don’t think it affects him really that much. And I think the more he does it, the more he just stays with it, that’s an opportunity to play up possibly in the top six.”
He added: “That line is in place for a reason (Thursday), to take a look at it.”
The look was underwhelming, with that trio being out-chanced, 5-1, according to Natural Stat Trick, while failing to generate any high-danger scoring chances.
“I thought the second (period) was alright; a little bit inconsistent in the first and the third,” Laviolette said of that line. “But it was (Zibanejad’s) first game back and not getting the reps in practice that you probably want. So, that’s a step, and we’ll look to get them back out there again and see what they can do.”
It’ll be interesting to see if Laviolette keeps those three rolling together in the coming days and allows them time to work out the kinks, or if he pivots to other top-line combinations. He tried Zibanejad with Artemi Panarin and Blake Wheeler earlier in camp, while Kaapo Kakko had success last year playing with Kreider and Zibanejad.
They have two weeks left of camp to weigh the options and make a decision.
Adam Fox and K’Andre Miller get a look
Laviolette also said he wants to try out different defensive pairs, rather than just deferring to what we’ve seen the last few years.
That led to an exciting Miller-Fox pairing Thursday, which the coach is intrigued by because “their offensive upside is really high.” It didn’t materialize in this game, though, with the Rangers being out-chanced, 8-3, while they were on the ice together at five-on-five and struggling to put together many threatening possessions. That duo combined for only one shot on goal.
“The second period, I thought we were good, and then there’s some things that you wish you could change or do differently and get back,” Laviolette said. “But again, it was a first look for me and for them. And, so, there’s good and bad with both.”
The reasonable conclusion is that they’ll start the season with their normal pairings of Fox with Ryan Lindgren and Miller with Jacob Trouba, but Laviolette has indicated he wants the option to switch when the situation calls for it.
“That’s what the preseason is for,” Fox said. “You mix and match, you see what works and what doesn’t work, and kind of find your legs again. It’s our second game in a couple months. I’ve been with Key on the same team and seen him enough, but obviously to be out there is a little different and learn their habits.”
Cuylle, Othmann continue to impress
While the top line and top D had inconsistent nights, a couple of prospects who are on the cusp of NHL opportunities continued to impress.
Both Brennan Othmann and Will Cuylle landed on the scoresheet. The former scored the Rangers’ second and final goal − a quick wrister from the right circle after Erik Gustafsson mishit a puck and broke his stick − while the latter added an assist on Gustafsson’s goal earlier in the game. But it wasn’t just the points that stood out about the promising pair of young forwards.
Othmann was noticeable on the forecheck and made a few heads-up defensive plays, including a takeaway in the first period that led to a two-on-one rush and a couple scoring chances for the Rangers. He finished with six shot attempts (three on goal) and three hits in 14:48 time on ice.
Cuylle showed off his strength and physicality with three hits of his own, including one along the boards in the second period that sent Devils defenseman Tyler Wotherspoon down to the ice. He also had six shot attempts, including one that hit the post in the second period, along with three shots on goal in 14:39 TOI. He also made an appearance on the penalty kill as he continues to show improvements in his all-around game.
Both remain relative long shots to make the NHL roster out of camp, but they’ve each looked like they belong and put together a couple of encouraging preseason showings. The more they stack those kind of games, the sooner their chance could come.
“I thought that they were both pretty strong with their game,” Laviolette said. “Those guys were good. I noticed them quite a bit. Othmann had good jump. He had some scoring chances. Cuylle, I thought, got better as a game went on.”
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: 3 takeaways from Rangers preseason loss to Devils
