All someone really wanted from this exhibition match was to be healthy. It seems that, after a scare, the Rangers met that goal.
Because although Marc Staal, the Blueshirt with 104 games of experience in the Stanley Cup playoffs, left Wednesday’s 2-1 loss to the Islanders in Toronto after the second period and did not return, he should be ready for Game 1 of the Saturday against Carolina.
“It was just as a precaution,” said David Quinn when asked about it. “[He’ll be OK.]”
The next time, of course, will be a real one for the Rangers, who were relatively tepid in their warm-up on Wednesday, not that no one should read too much of anything in this first game in 141 days, and one that was played fanless on steps.
The pace was reasonably good, even if the Blueshirts’ most skilled boys like Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad often seemed to be playing their first game in over four months. Same for Chris Kreider, who hasn’t been in a competitive ice situation since he broke his foot in Philadelphia on February 28.
The fact is, and this is an observation rather than a criticism, Panarin has been quite pedestrian since the Blueshirts officially reunited on July 13. This is presumed to be an example of a splendid athlete who knows his body and capabilities as he makes his way to Saturday, but the Rangers clearly will need their Hart Trophy finalist to hit the ice when the puck falls just after noon on Saturday.
Igor Shesterkin barely tested himself in preparation for Saturday’s anticipated start to Game 1, allowing a two-for-one goal by Anthony Beauvillier at close range midway through the second period while facing a sum of seven shots on 29: fifteen. Beauvillier’s goal, a short side from the club side, was created by a stretching pass from Andy Greene that caught Adam Fox on ice. The goal came in the first shot of the islanders of the period.
Henrik Lundqvist, who relieved Shesterkin, was outstanding, only to be beaten by Devon Toews on a forehand with less than five minutes to play in the third period. This represented a drag from the camp, during which the King was extremely sharp.
Lundqvist has started the Rangers’ last 127 playoff games since Game 2 of 2006 in the first round against the Devils. Qualifying round games won’t count as playoff games, so the streak will live on, technically, even if Lundqvist is on the bench when the puck falls on Saturday.
Kaapo Kakko played with the same confidence and touch of arrogance that he showed during the Blueshirts’ two-week summer camp. David Quinn elevated Kakko, who has become a first-shot player, north-south, to the second line with Panarin and Ryan Strome for a handful of innings in the first period. Finn, 19, worked well with third-line pivot Filip Chytil to create scoring opportunities in the second period against Semyon Varlamov.
And it was Chytil driving to the net to bury Jesper Fast’s second shot with 3:38 left in the game to bring the Blueshirts to 2-1. The Rangers have been a heavy team in the top six throughout the season. If Kid Kakko and Kid Chytil can create a dangerous third line, that would certainly change the dynamic.
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