New York Rangers face Bruins on TNT as roster decisions loom
The New York Rangers take on the Boston Bruins at Madison Square Garden in what should be almost their full opening night lineup.
“We’re still working on the details,” Filip Chytil said on Tuesday. “It’s (nearing) the end of training camp and we have to get to that into shape on the ice with our system. That’s what these last two games are about.”
UPDATE: Jaroslav Halak starts in place of Igor Shesterkin
Game and broadcast info below in bold and italics.
| DATE | VS. | BROADCAST INFO | RESULT |
| Monday, Sept. 26 (7:00 PM) | NYI | MSG, MSGSN, NHLN, ESPN 98.7 | W, 4-1 |
| Tuesday, Sept. 27 (7:00 PM) | @BOS | MSG, NESN+, NHLN, ESPN 98.7 | L, 3-2(OT) |
| Thursday, Sept. 29 (7:00 PM) | NJ | MSG, MSGSN, NHLN, ESPN 98.7 | L, 5-2 |
| Friday, Sept. 30 (7:00 PM) | @NJ | MSG, MSGSN, NHLN, ESPN 98.7 | W, 2-1 |
| Wednesday, Oct. 5 (7:00 PM) | BOS | TNT, ESPN 98.7 | |
| Saturday, Oct. 8 (7:00 PM) | @NYI | MSG |
New York Rangers back in action vs Bruins
Based on the last two practice rotations the lineup will have most of the top three lines and d-pairs set. Since there are two games remaining, expect Igor Shesterkin and Jaroslav Halak to split.
Here’s a look at what you may see tonight. Players in bold consistently played together:
- Kreider – Zibanejad – Vesey
- Panarin – Trocheck – Kravtsov
- Lafrenière -Chytil – Kakko
- Blais – Carpenter – Reaves
- Lindgren – Fox
- Miller – Trouba
- Jones – Schneider
- PP1: Chris Kreider, Mika Zibanejad, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Adam Fox
- PP2: Filip Chytil, Kaapo Kakko, Alexis Lafrenière, Vitali Kravtsov, Jacob Trouba (Zac Jones)
Head coach Gerard Gallant cracked a joke about how much ice time the second unit would get this season.
“We’ll see what happens,” Gallant laughed. “Hopefully that (first) unit gets real hot. Not much time to give the kids so they’ll have to wait their turn.”
The Rangers are 2-1-1 in preseason action with 10 goals for and 10 against. Their opponent the Bruins are 2-2-0 with 8 goals for and 5 against. Boston is 0-2 on the road and beat the Rangers at TD Garden 3-2 in OT earlier this exhibition season.
Jimmy Vesey getting a chance on top line
Vesey, 29, is at Rangers camp on a professional tryout contract (PTO). In three exhibition games, he’s recorded a goal and two assists. His work on the penalty kill has been excellent highlighted by an outstanding back-check to prevent a game-tying goal and preserve a Rangers win over the New Jersey Devils last week.
Tuesday at practice, Vesey was on the first line with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider. According to Gerard Gallant, they want to give him an opportunity since he’s on a PTO to win a job.
“We expected that (from Vesey),” Gallant noted. “Once he signed a PTO here we knew he’s a good player and what he did last year. Obviously, he’s in the mix.”
There’s just two games left, Vesey can solidify his spot and make the team with a strong effort tonight.
Alternate Captains
The Rangers have been discussing a possible change with their alternate captains after naming Jacob Trouba the newest captain.
Currently Mika Zibanejad, Chris Kreider, Artemi Panarin, and Barclay Goodrow wear an A on their sweater.
“We’re not sure what we’re going to do,” Gallant said last week. “We’ll discuss it some more and there’s different combinations we might do. We’ll decide in the near future and we’ll make an announcement before the season starts.”
With just two preseason games left, it will be interesting to see who’s wearing A‘s tonight.
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