3 Takeaways From Rangers’ First 3 Preseason Games

Sheary has played in two preseason games so far and has looked excellent in both games. He scored a goal in his first game against the New Jersey Devils and had two assists in a loss to the New York Islanders. He has looked fast and is aggressive on the puck, and is not afraid to shoot if given the opportunity. There were not many who thought Sheary would be this effective in training camp, but with the way he has been playing, it looks like he could earn himself a contract with the Rangers and be in the bottom six to start the season.

A Mixed Bag From the Younger Players So Far

One of the more interesting storylines to follow for the Rangers entering training camp was to see which young players would make the best impression and earn themselves a spot on the team. Starting with the good, Gabe Perreault and Noah Laba have been very noticeable and very impressive in the games they have played so far. Each of them has played every game so far, and they have been making it hard on the coaching staff to leave them off the opening night roster.

Perreault has scored two goals in the first two games and was given a chance to play on a line with J.T. Miller and Mika Zibanejad in the third game. For Laba, he has been the breakout player for the Rangers so far, recording four points (all assists) in the three games played. He’s played fast, played on the penalty kill, and has been an overall great two-way player. He should be in the conversation to start the season as the third-line center for the Rangers.

Brett Berard is another player who has played well and who is fighting for a roster spot. He has two points in two games played so far. He plays fast and can get physical, even though he is a smaller player. One younger player who has disappointed so far is Brennan Othmann. He’s played in all three games as well, with one goal scored. He was ejected from the first game after receiving a five-minute major, and overall, he has not looked like a player ready for the NHL. He might be the one who is guaranteed to start in the AHL based on his poor play so far in preseason.

Back-to-Back Third-Period Collapses

In the two games the Rangers have played at Madison Square Garden, they have given up multi-goal third-period leads to lose both games. In the game against the Boston Bruins, they were up 4-1 going into the third and lost the game in overtime, 5-4. Against the Islanders in the next game, they were up 4-2 going into the third period but lost 5-4 in regulation. It was reminiscent of what we have seen from this team over the years, in that when they would have a lead in the third period, they would sit back and become less aggressive and allow their opposition to fight back and either tie the game or take the lead.

For head coach Mike Sullivan, this is a habit that he needs to work on with the players so that they can get it out of their system. This is the best time to work on it, as these games do not matter when it comes to the standings or getting points; they are about working out the kinks of your game before the real games begin. This has been an area of concern for years now among multiple different coaches, and so far, it is still prevalent in their game. Fixing this issue would be a great thing for the Rangers because they should not be the type of team to just sit back and try to hold the lead, as they are not the best defensive team in the league. They should rely on their offensive players to continue pushing the play forward instead of relying on their defense and goaltending to bail them out.

The Rangers still have three more preseason games to play this coming week. While there have been some good and some bad so far, there is still time for the bad to be fixed and for the good to keep improving. The Rangers will be one of the more interesting teams to watch this season, and it will be interesting to see how the roster shapes out as training camp wraps up in the coming weeks.