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New York Rangers Game Notes

Rangers vs. Devils: That Was a Hockey Game

Dylan Garand outplayed a New Jersey lineup stacked with NHL talent, and it might not even be enough. The Rangers' backup goalie decision could be a mistake in the making.

Eric Kohn

Eric Kohn

— 5 min read
Rangers vs. Devils: That Was a Hockey Game
(Image credit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect)
  • Ladies and gentlemen, we're back.
  • Well, kind of. It's game one of the preseason, which doesn't really mean all that much in the grand scheme of things. It especially doesn't mean all that much when the lineup looks like this:
  • So, let's adjust that headline up top to say "Game Notes: Wolf Pack vs. Devils."
  • And let's be honest: Even in a meaningless preseason game, it's pretty funny that the Devils' NHL team won by just a single goal in the waining minutes against a minor league roster.
  • Let's address the most controversial issue right up front:
  • I like the blue helmets with the road white jerseys. They should keep it.
  • There were only four—maybe five—players who took the ice last night against the Devils who I think have (as of now) an even outside chance of making this team. At this point, given the practice groups that we saw for the first few days of training camp that sure look a hell of a lot like the Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack's rosters, any contest for roster spots seems mostly over, save for this handful.
  • I'll give an honorable mention to Adam Sykora, who I really don't think had a chance of making the team out of camp, mostly because he could be easily sent to Hartford on waivers. But, any outside chance he had certainly ended here:
  • One more honorable mention goes to Vincent Iorio. With the Rangers revamped blueline where the first two pairs are all set, and with Alberts Smits increasingly looking just from the camp practices rosters like he'll make the team, there isn't really a place for Iorio. He left the game with a lower body injury, but any chance he had ended with this beautiful pass for a goal right to Timo Meier, who you may recall plays for the New Jersey Devils:
  • I think Matt Rempe was fine. I've been a noted and well-established, albeit limited, Matt Rempe defender. I think he's shown how his size can be a weapon, particularly in dump-and-chase situations where the defensemen for the other team doing puck retrieval certainly don't love the idea of a 6-9, 254 pound hulk bearing down on them. The problem for Rempe is that there are now much better options for the Rangers on the fourth line than him.

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