11:28AM: At Rangers practice on Tuesday, the lines being used are (Staple):
- Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Kaapo Kakko
- Artemi Panarin, Filip Chytil, Alexis Lafreniere
- Will Cuylle, Vincent Trocheck, Blake Wheeler
- Barclay Goodrow, Nick Bonino, Tyler Pitlick
- Ryan Lindgren, Adam Fox
- K’Andre Miller, Jacob Trouba
- Erik Gustafsson, Braden Schneider
Jimmy Vesey is an extra forward and Zac Jones is an extra defenseman.
Lafreniere was skating with the second PP unit along with K’Andre Miller, Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Blake Wheeler. (Stephenson)
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Adam Rotter: The second line is obviously the biggest takeaway and will be the biggest focus on Thursday. They are keeping Alexis Lafreniere on the right side and they are giving Filip Chytil a huge chance. I wish they could have gotten in some preseason games, but they’ll have to either pick things up on the fly or flip flopping with Chytil and Trocheck and Lafreniere and either Wheeler or Cuylle, with Lafreniere shifting to the left side on the third line will likely happen. It’s a big spot for both Chytil and Lafreniere, but bigger obviously for Lafreniere who still needs to figure out where best he fits. We’ve seen Chytil take steps and pairing him with Panarin could be a huge combo with Panarin’s passing and Chytil’s shot. They are putting their faith in Lafreniere and giving him a spot he didn’t totally earn in training camp, but that they know they need to see him in. They need to see more from him and giving him a spot in the top-six is the first step in hopefully seeing him take a step forward.