It’s fitting that our first Rangers preseason recap of the 2024-2025 year is a Stadium Series deja vu. Down 3-0 and 4-1, the Rangers roared back like they did last year at Metlife Stadium to win 6-4. What was nice about this comeback win though is it didn’t fully rely on special teams to accomplish the feat. It may have been preseason, but it felt satisfying.
As I’ve done in the past when discussing the preseason, let’s discuss three main storylines from the game that will be interesting to see as we get further into preseason and final cuts.
The Zac Jones and Jacob Trouba (bad penalty aside, he looked fine) pairing looked good last night, with Jones’ two goals certainly contributing to it. On his first goal, Adam Edstrom hit him in stride on a breakaway, followed by an incredible slap shot to bring the Rangers within a goal.
Last season, it was very clear Jones needed to be a part of the plans here in New York. This season it appears he’s taking the bull by the horns. He has too good of a skill set to be a 7th defenseman. Jones appears to be a lock for the 3LD and potentially the PP2 QB roles, which is a significant upgrade on what the Rangers ran out there last season. Jones’ puck moving skills are a big need.
Going back to Edstrom, the focus may be on Matt Rempe (it’s not a direct competition between the two for lineup spots), but it’s Edstrom who is showing far more versatility in the lineup. The big guy ended up getting the game winning goal, screening the Islanders goalie and getting a deflection off a Trouba floater from the point.
Edstrom is everything you want out of a modern day big player. He has wheels beyond belief, he lit up the Flyers in the Rangers/Flyers rookie series, and has continued that hot streak into his preseason matches. If Rempe is going to the 4th line right wing, then Edstrom as his counterpart on the left wing creates a matchup problem for opponents. Both forecheck aggressively, a strong fit in Peter Laviolette’s 2-1-2 forecheck, which we’ve already seen has created fear in opponents.
Edstrom also has the kind of skill where you could honestly talk yourself into thinking he could score 10-15 goals a season as a bottom six guy. Excellent game, and a super intriguing option for the bottom six.
It’s not all rainbows and butterflies though. Brennan Othmann, penciled in by many as the 3LW, simply doesn’t look ready. Ditto Brett Berard. This is Berard’s first true look at camp, but we must ask whether Othmann is an NHL player, or simply trade bait while the value is high. This is not a dig at the impacts and growth he’s made to this point in the AHL ranks, but he just looks outclassed against NHL players, even washed up ones like Matt Martin.
Now you can’t put a timeline on development. It is simply not linear. But at what point do the Rangers brain trust look at a player like Othmann and say, maybe it’s time we use this asset to upgrade the roster? He’s only in his second pro season, but it’s clear the Rangers have a window and it’s not like they are lacking wing prospects (Berard, Adam Sykora, Gabe Perreault, etc). There’s risk, as he very well may put it together elsewhere.
Obviously with 4 more preseason games to go, hopefully he pops off soon, but it’s not looking good right now for a player many were hoping to really grab hold of the opportunity in front of him.
But bear in mind, we thought the same thing about Ryan McDonagh when he didn’t break camp with the Rangers in 2010-2011, and then look what happened. Perhaps he just needs a bit more time in Hartford.
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