The Rangers play the first of the six pre-season games tonight against the Devils. With much of the roster decided, this will be the first chance for several to either impress coach Alain Vigneault or lose whatever chance they had of breaking camp with the team. Below is the list of who is playing tonight along with possible line combinations pairings. Dan Boyle, who was originally in the lineup, has been scratched due to what sounds like a family issue and replaced by Kevin Klein, so the d-pairings could be altered.
Goalies:
Magnus Hellberg and Antti Raanta
Defensemen:
Raphael Diaz, Kevin Klein, Dylan McIlrath, Brady Skjei, Chris Summers and Keith Yandle
Forwards:
Luke Adam, Ryan Bourque, Jesper Fast, Brian Gibbons, Tanner Glass, Marek Hrivik, Chris Kreider, Oscar Lindberg, Jayson Megna, Dom Moore, Viktor Stalberg and Derek Stepan
Combinations:
Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan, Viktor Stalberg Tanner Glass, Dominic Moore, Marek Hrivik Ryan Bourque, Oscar Lindberg, Jesper Fast Brian Gibbons, Jayson Megna, Luke Adam
Keith Yandle and Dylan McIlrath, Brady Skjei and Kevin Klein, Chris Summers and Raphael Diaz
Here is what I will be focusing on tonight:
Does Viktor Stalberg show enough to break camp with the team and how is used? Is he on the penalty kill?
Where is Oscar Lindberg used? Does he solely see time at center or is he moved to wing, as AV suggested today? Also, does he see PK time?
Can one of Gibbons, Megna or Adam open some eyes?
How much thin ice is Glass on or are we just assuming due to his higher cap hit, he will be sent to the minors with the variant of salary eaten up by the cap?
McIlrath, McIlrath, McIlrath, little more needs to be said, as this is his shot to show he deserves to stay in NY as either the seventh or eighth d-man, if the team can swing it
How long will it take for Skjei to be ready to join the team and if it’s short-term, is one of the top-six on the block?
Can Diaz prove he deserves a spot over McIlrath if NY only goes with seven d-men?
Who will be the backup? If Hellberg beats open Raanta, it saves NY 125k and might allow eight d-men to come north.