The Rangers play their fourth preseason game Tuesday against the Islanders. With five more players sent to Hartford on Monday, the roster stands at 36. Look for a handful more cuts after Thursday's game against the Flyers, as New York aims to get a 22 or 23 man roster.
The New York Rangers announced Monday that the team reduced its Training Camp roster by five players, as Connor Brickley, Sean Day, Tim Gettinger, Nick Jones, and Dawson Leedahl have all been assigned to Training Camp with the Hartford Wolf Pack of the American Hockey League (AHL).
The Rangers have 36 players remaining in Training Camp. The roster breakdown is listed below:
Forwards (20): Lias Andersson, Pavel Buchnevich, Filip Chytil, Phillip Di Giuseppe, Jesper Fast, Steven Fogarty, Micheal Haley, Brett Howden, Kaapo Kakko, Vitali Kravtsov, Chris Kreider, Brendan Lemieux, Vinni Lettieri, Greg McKegg, Vladislav Namestnikov, Boo Nieves, Danny O’Regan, Artemi Panarin, Ryan Strome, Mika ZibanejadDefensemen (12): Tony DeAngelo, Adam Fox, Libor Hajek, Ryan Lindgren, Joe Morrow, Tarmo Reunanen, Matthew Robertson, Yegor Rykov, Brady Skjei, Brendan Smith, Marc Staal, Jacob Trouba Goaltenders (4): Alexandar Georgiev, Adam Huska, Henrik Lundqvist, Igor Shesterkin
Lineup today:
Projected game group for tomorrow vs. NYI: pic.twitter.com/EIIuzTseyc
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 23, 2019
AMP line together
Howden gets a chance to succeed on a line with Kravtsov and Kakko. This is Quinn putting a player in a good position with material upside potential. Howden wants to earn a key spot on this squad, this is his chance to show he warrants it.
First unit power play - Trouba-Panarin-Zib-Buch-Kakko
Possible line combinations for Thursday: (as you will see fourth line is not part of the equation and Dawson Leedahl, who was on third line, was sent down. Look for several players in today's lineup to suit up Thursday as well. Sean Day has been sent down)
Group 2 pic.twitter.com/8HWWOCp3pb
— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) September 23, 2019
David Quinn after practice:
“Over the next three games, we’ll have more of our Opening Night roster playing. We’ve touched on some of the things we need to be better at.…
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) September 23, 2019
With Preseason Game 4 looming, #NYR Coach Quinn talks Tony’s return, lineup decisions moving forward & much more. pic.twitter.com/rLfOubJjxN
Quinn on Chytil, Andersson and Howden:
... Also, DQ said all 3 young centers — Chytil, Andersson And Howden — do need to make the team. Chytil would need to be a top 9 forward to stick. If all three make it, one may be a fourth line center or one or more may move to wing.
— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) September 23, 2019
They are not assumed on the roster. They need to do enough to make the team. Chytil would need to be somewhere in the top three lines. The other two -- probably because of their style of play -- could play fourth line if needed.
— Colin Stephenson (@ColinASteph) September 23, 2019
I think we all expect each one of the three to make the roster. Chytil, as seen above and the other night, is skating as the second line center, shifting Ryan Strome to wing. Andersson could be the 3C while Howden steps up in class to the second line center Tuesday. I would be shocked if Howden doesn't make the team. But if he doesn't show much Tuesday and Greg McKegg continues to impress, Howden and not Andersson could be the off man out. As of now, Vitali Kratsov, who right now is penciled as a third line winger, should be part of the opening night roster. Though the feasibility, albeit remote, does exist that he is sent down to open the year.
If Quinn and GM Jeff Gorton wanted to really shake things up, some of the kids could be sent down to play daily with player such as Phillip Di Giuseppe, Micheal Haley and McKegg making the roster in their stead. To me, unless the kids struggle so much the next few games and the view is that having them up with slow their development, making a move like this seem short sighted. Could a trade to move Nam or Strome occur, yes, but that seems unlikely unless a veteran team suffers a major injury or New York moves a pick to a team with cap room to create more space, since the team is close to the upper limit.
My projected lines, as of right now, are:
First line: Artemi Panarin (LW) – Mika Zibanejad (C) – Pavel Buchnevich (RW) Second line: Chris Kreider (LW) – Filip Chytil (C) – Kaapo Kakko (RW) Third line: Ryan Strome (LW) – Lias Andersson (C) – Vitali Kravtsov (RW) Fourth line: Brendan Lemieux (LW) – Brett Howden (C) – Jesper Fast (RW) Extra forward: Vlad Namestnikov
Mix and match on the third and fourth lines at will, as this is not set in stone.
The blueline will be interesting, I think the first four, with Tony DeAngelo signed, are pretty set. The third line should have Libor Hajek, who has had a strong camp and taken advantage of Yegor Rykov's ankle injury, and Adam Fox, who has been impressive. As of now, Brendan Smith makes the team as a swing man. If New York wanted to save a little cash, the team could send Smith down and have Joe Morrow make the team as a seventh blueliner. Ryan Lindgren is a candidate for that role. but he would be better served playing daily at Hartford.
First pair: Brady Skjei (L) and Jacob Trouba (R) Second pair: Marc Staal (L) and Tony DeAngelo (R) Third pair: Libor Hà¡jek (L) and Adam Fox (R) Extra defenseman → Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist is still the starter and Alexandar Georgiev should be the back up, at least to start the season, This means that Igor Shesterkin opens the year in Hartford. But I do expect him up in the NHL at some point.
Rangers pump up video:
In addition to my @YouTube channel, you can see ALL of my videos on my new @Vimeo channel! #NYR #LGRhttps://t.co/F7JAqQ3qwm
— Zak (@Zak4B) September 23, 2019