Rangers Drop Huge Clue On How Regular Season Lineup Will Shakeout

When the Rangers routed the Islanders 6-1 on Friday in their preseason finale, it served as “the closest thing to a full lineup that we’ve had of any of the exhibition games to this point,” head coach Mike Sullivan. 

And that means that fourth-line winger Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits are seemingly in the driver’s seat for the final two spots for the Blueshirts’ opening-night group. Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts by Monday, but the scene at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling. Rempe was with the fourth line and picked up an assist on Tye Kartye’s goal in the second period.

Smits skated with Braden Schneider and logged 18:18 of ice time. 

While Sullivan didn’t provide many hints about the final calls, he said during pregame that Smits — picked No. 5 overall in June’s draft — has “certainly made a compelling argument through his play that he’s capable of playing in the NHL.” And after the win, he added that Smits “plays the game out there like he belongs.”

Both Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow, who are defenseman also competing for the final spots, would have to clear waivers before getting assigned to AHL Hartford, while Smits is waiver-exempt.

Smits impressed Sullivan with his physicality and sharp passing as an 18-year-old, but similar to the Rangers’ call with Gabe Perreault last training camp, when they sent him to AHL Hartford, they want to ensure that Smits can be an impactful player on their roster. 

“It’d mean a lot,” Smits said postgame when asked what it’d mean to make the roster, while leaving the decision as to whether he’s done enough up to the coaches and saying that he has to show daily that he’s ready to make the jump. 

The presence of Rempe alongside Tye Kartye and Joe Veleno continued the trend throughout training camp of the 6-foot-9 forward settling back in after being limited to just 26 games last year. He underwent two procedures on his left thumb, limiting what he could contribute with his stick. Rempe would need to clear waivers too, while Jaroslav Chmelar can get assigned without the risk of being picked up by another team. 

Rempe knew entering training camp that he had a lot to prove, said he “wants to be here bad” and then collected eight hits during the Rangers’ preseason game against the Devils on Thursday. And Sullivan, who reiterated that Rempe simply needs to play games, said Friday that the 24-year-old can be more than someone capable of fights and a few hits. 

“I think he has to be,” Sullivan said. “When you look at the nature of how the game’s being played today, if a player, if their value is only in their ability to fight, how many fights does the average NHL fighter get in the course of a season? Half a dozen? 

“So if he’s only gonna make an impact five or six times a year … you would all say that there needs to be other elements to a player’s game. And I think Remps brings other elements.” 

Igor Shesterkin made 15 saves and nearly delivered a preseason shutout against an Islanders team of mostly AHL players before Pierre Engvall’s shot beat him with just over eight minutes left. … Perreault, Oliver Bjorkstrand, J.T. Miller, Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad scored the Rangers’ other five goals. … Nathan Aspinall, Liam Greentree, Drew Fortescue, Cole Beaudoin, Jackson Dorrington and Carey Terrance were all assigned to the Wolf Pack. Anton Blidh, Marc Del Gaizo, Glenn Gawdin and William Trudeau were placed on waivers, according to multiple reports.