First Period:
- Jonny Brodzinski (2) Assists: Adam Fox (1), K’Andre Miller (2)
- Adam Fox (2) Assists: K’Andre Miller (3), Filip Chytil (3)
- Bo Horvat (3) (Power Play) Assists: Mathew Barzal (2), Maxim Tsyplakov (2)
Second Period:
- Bo Horvat (4) Assists: Mathew Barzal (3), Ryan Pulock (1)
- Maxim Tsyplakov (1) (Power Play) Assists: Mathew Barzal (4), Anthony Duclair (3)
Third Period:
- Mathew Barzal (4) Assists: Anthony Duclair (4)
- Anthony Duclair (1) Assists: Mathew Barzal (5)
Stats:
Adam Rotter:
- This was probably not the game Peter Laviolette was hoping for with what could be his Opening Night roster. The Islanders were just better and Igor Shesterkin showed why the Rangers need to give him $11 million+. He was really good, most of the rest of the team…not so much.
- When I was thinking of different options for Adam Fox while Ryan Lindgren is out I didn’t mention K’Andre Miller because I didn’t expect Miller and Braden Schneider to be broken up. I’d still expect Miller to be with Schneider on Wednesday, but it was good to get a look at what could be the Rangers top defense pair in the future.
- Brennan Othmann slotting into Artemi Panarin’s spot makes me think that Panarin will be ready to play on Wednesday. He skated today and the fact that the Rangers didn’t break up the other two lines makes me think that he’ll be ready to start the season. Othmann didn’t have a real noticeable game in that spot, but many of the Rangers players were not that noticeable.
- It all starts for real on Wednesday. The biggest questions heading into the opener are about Artemi Panarin’s status, who will play with Adam Fox and whether the Rangers will get Igor Shesterkin extended so that can be taken off the table as a distraction.
- There are high expectations for the Rangers this season though it’s hard to have much better of a regular season at least standings-wise. I expect them to battle the Devils for first place in the Metro with Carolina probably lurking not too far behind. When it comes to the actual regular season, the biggest question I have for the Rangers is the same one as it has been the last couple of years: Can they be better at 5-on-5 so that they don’t need to rely so heavily on the PP? We saw what happened in the playoffs when the Rangers PP went cold and it’s hard to imagine a much different result if they can’t consistently find the net at even strength. Hopefully they can score more at 5-on-5, possess the puck more, spend more time in their zone and lessen how much work Igor Shesterkin has to face. What will a healthy Filiip Chytil bring to the Rangers as a third scoring option? Will Reilly Smith click with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider? Will Kaapo Kakko be anything more than he has been? Will Matt Rempe be trusted enough to play a regular shift and develop into a consistent bottom-six contributor? They will struggle at times but ultimately the Rangers should be good enough and deep enough to be one of the top teams again in the regular season. The main focus for this team won’t come until the playoffs, but the Rangers are going to need to get their first.