Rangers Daily: Mike Sullivan’s pairs; Flyers legend Bernie Parent dies
At the start of New York Rangers training camp, Mike Sullivan explained that he likes to create early chemistry with pairs of players, if not complete three-man line combinations.
We’ve seen J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad together since start of camp. And Artemi Panarin was with Vincent Trocheck until the star winger landed on the injury list with a lower-body issue. On defense, Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov paired up right from the get-go.
So, you had to think there was some purpose to the defense pairs and forward line combinations that Sullivan deployed Sunday in a 5-3 preseason win against the New Jersey Devils. Granted, there were a lot of players in the lineup who won’t be on the Rangers roster this season. But there were three pairings that stood out.
Urho Vaakanainen skated with Will Borgen on the top defense pairing Sunday. They won’t be the No. 1 pair when the regular season starts, but each will be on the team, and this could be the look of the second pairing. Borgen appears to be a lock the right side of the second pair. But it’s interesting that Vaakanainen got the first opportunity to be his partner, and not Carson Soucy, who was in that role before next to Borgen when they were Seattle Kraken teammates.
Maybe Braden Schneider shifts to his off (left) side to pair with Borgen. But right now, he’s being held out of preseason games as a precaution following shoulder surgery.
Vaakanainen and Borgen each was plus-3 Sunday. Vaakanainen led the Rangers with 23:58 TOI, had an assist on Jonny Brodzinski’s goal, and took a pair of penalties, including a cross-checking minor in the final minutes. Borgen logged 21:56 TOI, including a team-high 5:50 on the penalty kill.
Up front, there were some combinations worth noting as Sullivan tries to piece together the third line. Juuso Parssinen is the front-runner to center that third line. On Sunday, he centered a very effective line that included rookie Gabe Perreault and veteran Conor Sheary, who’s in camp on a PTO. That threesome was the best line combination on the ice, accounting for two goals (Perreault and Sheary), solid puck possession, and numerous scoring chances.
If Sheary earns an NHL contract, it’ll be in a bottom-six role. Perreault is viewed more as a top-nine wing at this point, with his best chance to land a lineup spot on the third line. So, yeah, not a shock that the Rangers coach flanked Parssinen on Sunday with two possible linemates once games count.
In the same vein, Brennan Othmann and Taylor Raddysh played on the same line Sunday. There’s certainly a world where they are the wings on the third line opening night against the Pittsburgh Penguins. So, it’s no surprise that Sullivan took a look at them together against the Devils, with bottom-six option Justin Dowling at center.
That line was held off the score sheet Sunday, though Raddysh and Dowling, specifically, were pretty solid at both ends of the rink. Othmann’s preseason debut likely will be best remembered for the five-minute elbowing major he was assessed for a third-period hit against Calen Addison.
All that said, continue to watch how Sullivan groups pairs of players together in practice and throughout the preseason to get a hint of things to come in the regular season.
New York Rangers news and analysis
Here are our key takeaways from the Rangers’ 5-3 win against the Devils in the preseason opener.
Brett Berard wasn’t in the Rangers lineup, but our Jennifer O’Regan pulls back the curtain on how family is at the core of his hockey journey entering the most important training camp of his career.
NHL news and rumors
NHL.com: Philadelphia Flyers legend Bernie Parent died at the age of 80. The Hockey Hall of Famer backstopped the only two Stanley Cup championships in Flyers history as their goalie in 1974 and 1975.
New Jersey Hockey Now: James Nichols breaks down who looked good (including Arseniy Gritsyuk, who had two points) and, yeah, not so much from the Devils side in their 5-3 loss to the Rangers on Sunday.
TSN: The Nashville Predators and Luke Evangelista are far apart in contract negotiations, so the RFA forward left Nashville and returned home to Canada to train.
Sportsnet: Ottawa Senators defenseman Tyler Kleven left their preseason opener against the Toronto Maple Leafs with an unspecified injury and didn’t return. Ottawa coach Travis Green didn;t have an update postgame.
TSN: Max Domi returned to Maple Leafs practice after he was sidelined by a lower-body injury. The forward skated on a line with Nicolas Roy and Dakota Joshua.
X: Carolina Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour stated that key defensemen Jaccob Slavin and Jalen Chatfield may be held out of preseason games as a precaution.
Pittsburgh Hockey Now: As if the Pittsburgh Penguins don’t have enough on-ice issues, they’re facing a pretty big off-ice one regarding land they own near PPG Paints Arena. Oh, and the team’s for sale (again), too.
WATCH: Yakov Trenin scores in overtime to lift the Minnesota Wild past the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in preseason play.
WATCH: Chase Stillman of the Vancouver Canucks scores a penalty-shot goal against Seattle Kraken goalie Joey Daccord.
