Preseason Game #3: New York Islanders vs. New York Rangers Open Thread

After blowing a three-goal lead to the Boston Bruins, the Rangers are back at Madison Square Garden against their rival, the New York Islanders. Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Alexis Lafrenière, and Vincent Trocheck will be making their preseason debut tonight. As mentioned at the beginning of training camp, Miller and Zibanejad will play together, and tonight, Gabe Perreault will serve as the other wing. With Artemi Panarin still battling a lower-body injury, Brennan Othmann will join Lafrenière and Trocheck on the second line.

In terms of defensive pairs, Adam Fox and Scott Morrow will anchor the team's first pair. Fox had a strong preseason debut Tuesday, where he performed admirably. Morrow will get an opportunity to showcase his abilities next to one of the best defensemen in the league. Tonight will also be the first time we get to see Will Borgen and Carson Soucey play together, a pairing many fans proposed during the offseason.

Player to Watch: Gabe Perreault

I'm sure you were going to be keeping an eye on Perreault anyway, but his play has been too impressive not to mention. Through two preseason games, Perreault has made it difficult to decide whether to start him with the Rangers or the Hartford Wolf Pack. In each game, he has registered a goal and has created plenty of other scoring opportunities. Perreault has been on the team's first line for each preseason game, but tonight he gets the chance to play with Miller and Zibanejad. While the lines have not been set for the regular season, it appears only one top-six winger spot is available. If Perreault continues to play at a high level this preseason, he may seize the last spot and make the opening night roster.

Enjoy the game!