The Rangers are set to wrap up the preseason against the Islanders on Saturday night at UBS Arena, and the players on the roster bubble will have their last chance to make an impression on management before the official list is due before opening night Tuesday.
“We’re going to decide on the lineup probably later today,” head coach Gerard Gallant said Friday following practice at MSG Training Center in Tarrytown. “It’ll be a mix. There’s different options and we’re still discussing them to be honest. Obviously, [Ryan] Lindgren is not going to play tomorrow, but he’s done real well. He skated this morning, he’ll be ready to go, but we’re not going to be play him tomorrow.”
If the lines the Rangers have been skating in the past couple days at practice are any indication, Kaapo Kakko could step back into that right-wing spot on the top line next to Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad on Saturday. Jimmy Vesey, who is on a professional tryout, has been next to Artemi Panarin and Vincent Trocheck, while Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Barclay Goodrow have comprised the third line.
The final two lines have featured players fighting for spots, including Dryden Hunt, Julien Gauthier and Vitali Kravtsov. Those three have been skating together and Sammy Blais has primarily skated alongside Ryan Carpenter and Ryan Reaves. There could be a different combination of those six players rounding out the lineup on Saturday.
Goalie Igor Shesterkin will probably play to make up for having to sit out of the Rangers’ second-to-last exhibition contest against the Bruins on Wednesday, which resulted in a 5-4 loss, after experiencing stomach issues.
“Good effort,” Gallant said of what he’s looking to see out of the team. “Hopefully, everybody stays healthy on both teams. You hate to see anybody get hurt late in training camp. Play hard, have a good effort. The last game we didn’t play a full game. Whether you win or lose, it’s not really important to me, the next one.
“Go out there and play hard and get a little chemistry with your lines and see what it brings. There’s still guys battling for those spots and we’ll decide that on Monday.”
Lindgren (lower body) is still not skating with the team, but the 24-year-old defenseman has been skating on his own. The Rangers said they don’t foresee any issues with Lindgren rejoining the team Monday and being ready for opening night on Tuesday. … Jacob Trouba, who missed a recent practice with an upper-body injury, returned to the ice on Friday. … Jonny Brodzinski was officially assigned to AHL Hartford.