3 Rangers takeaways from 5-2 loss to Islanders in preseason finale

NHL: New York Rangers at New York Islanders
Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images

The New York Rangers left goaltender Igor Shesterkin to fend for himself for most of the game in a 5-2 loss to the New York Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday in the last of their six preseason games.

The Rangers were being dominated even as they took a 2-0 lead in the first 8:54 on a pair of fluke goals. A two-goal lead with Shesterkin in the crease is usually enough to ensure a win – but it wasn’t nearly enough on a night when most of his teammates were outskated and outhustled.

Aside from winning the battle of goofy goals, the Rangers’ skaters were no match for the home side. From the opening draw, the Islanders were quicker to the puck, drove to the net harder and more often and outworked the visitors in all departments. The Rangers took bad penalties and didn’t kill them – the Islanders scored twice on power plays set up by offensive-zone infractions – did nothing on their own power play and rarely put any pressure on Semyon Varlamov. They were outshot 38-22 and out-attempted 76-47. No Ranger had more than two shots on goal.

The bad news for the Rangers is that the team that dressed Friday is largely the same one that will suit up in Pittsburgh on Wednesday, when they open the regular season against the Penguins. The only major change could come if All-Star forward Artemi Panarin is able to play after missing the game against the Islanders with a lower-body injury sustained Tuesday in a 5-4 win against the New Jersey Devils.

Panarin skated Friday and is listed as day to day. Rookie Brennan Othmann took his place as left wing on a line with Vincent Trocheck at center and Alexis Lafreniere on the right side. The trio was pointless and generated little offensively; Othmann was even while Trocheck and Lafreniere each finished minus-2.

The good news, of course, is that this loss means nothing in the grand scheme of things. A 4-2-0 preseason record is nice  but wins and losses don’t matter until Wednesday in Pittsburgh.

“I’m excited for the games to matter, for sure,” forward Chris Kreider told Newsday’s Colin Stephenson. “Play some meaningful hockey. Obviously, our process has got to be a lot better than it was tonight, and that’s a bit of a wakeup call for us.”

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3 important takeaways from the Rangers’ loss to the Islanders

NHL: New York Rangers at New York Islanders
Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Hare are three key takeaways from the game Friday.

Igor Shesterkin looks ready for the regular season

The numbers say the 2022 Vezina Trophy winner allowed five goals on 38 shots, a less-than-sterling save percentage of .868. What the numbers don’t show is that Shesterkin was the only reason the Rangers were within a goal of tying the game until some late defensive gaffes sank them.

Shesterkin didn’t have a chance on any of the five goals – a breakaway, three wide-open shots from the slot and a fluke goal on a passout from behind the net that hit defenseman K’Andre Miller and deflected off Shesterkin before sliding over the goal line. But he was about as sharp as you can be while allowing five goals, robbing Islanders captain Anders Lee twice before the Rangers got their two fluke goals in the first period and keeping the Rangers in the game for most of the night until the Isles scored two late goals in 24 seconds to ice the win.

“I thought Shesty was excellent,” coach Peter Laviolette said.

This was Shesterkin’s only full game of the preseason; he played pieces of two others. While the Rangers didn’t have many things to be happy about Friday, Shesterkin’s play was definitely a positive.

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K’Andre Miller gets time with Adam Fox on first defensive pair

With Ryan Lindgren sidelined week to week because of an upper-body injury, Laviolette has been looking at potential partners to play the left side with Adam Fox on the first pair. Miller started the night partnered with Fox, a pairing that put the Rangers’ top two puck-moving defensemen together. Miller and Fox each assisted on Jonny Brodzinski’s goal 6:52 into the game, and Miller had an assist on Fox’s goal two minutes later.

But Laviolette switched his pairings midway through the game, putting Braden Schneider on the left side with Fox. He said the change was pre-planned.

“As we’re evaluating … just to see a righty on the left side of Foxy,” he said. “Saw (K’Andre) there, they had some good moments; then we tried ‘Schneids’ there.”

Connor Mackey and Victor Mancini, who’ve also gotten time on the left side with Fox during the preseason, were healthy scratches Friday. Laviolette isn’t tipping his hand about who’ll be playing with his No. 1 defenseman on Wednesday.

Rangers face roster decisions as they prepare for games that count

The best thing about the preseason is that it’s over. But before the puck drops for real on Wednesday, Laviolette and his assistants have some decisions to make.

Zac Jones appears to have locked up the third-pair role on defense that opened when Erik Gustafsson left for the Detroit Red Wings as a free agent. But with Lindgren out, the spot opposite Fox is still undecided.

Up front, Laviolette must hope that Panarin, a 120-point scorer last season, will get over his second lower-body injury of the preseason quickly. If he doesn’t, Othmann could snag a spot. Kaapo Kakko, Filip Chytil and Will Cuylle look like they’ll form a solid third line. The fourth line is a but up in the air, as Jimmy Vesey recuperates from a lower-body injury, though Brodzinski and Adam Edstrom seem to have locked down the 12th and 13th forward roles, in one form or another.

It figures to be a busy weekend for the coaching staff.

“We’re going to go back and we’ll talk (Saturday),” Laviolette said after the game. “I think we’ve got a pretty good idea on where we’re going, but the coaches will talk. I’ll meet with (general manager) Chris (Drury), and we’ll make sure that we get the right guys going into the season.”

John Kreiser covered his first Rangers game (against the California Golden Seals) in November 1975 and is still going ... More about John Kreiser
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