As the preseason wound down, with the New York Rangers dropping a 4-1 decision to the Boston Bruins on Saturday. Despite dressing a full lineup minus injured forwards J.T. Miller and Artemi Panarin, the Rangers had trouble mustering any offense against Bruins starting goalie Jeremy Swayman. Even when they had the better of the play by outshooting the Bruins by a combined 26-10 over the final two periods, they were unable to beat Swayman, who finished the game with 30 saves.

In an uneventful first period that saw Boston grab a 2-0 lead on goals from Nikita Zadorov and Pavel Zacha, the only thing that happened was Matt Rempe getting a takedown on Mark Kastelic. They’ve fought before in the regular season. So, it wasn’t a surprise. The fight wasn’t much with Rempe landing a couple of punches before he earned the decision.

Despite a more inspired second in which the Rangers held a 13-2 edge in shots along with most of the play spent in the Bruins zone, Swayman made the key saves to keep his team ahead by two.

Rempe got a dubious roughing minor for just driving to the net and getting hooked by Andrew Peeke into Swayman, who skated over to Rempe and had a few words for him. It was another reputation call on Rempe, who if he even looks in the direction of an opponent, could be sent off the ice. It’s rather absurd how he’s officiated.

The effort can never be questioned, which is why new head coach Mike Sullivan likes him. Something that’s been echoed by both current and former teammates. However, it would be wise if Sullivan uses Rempe periodically. He isn’t ever going to be good defensively due to his skating, which to his credit has improved. His strengths are using his size to win physical battles along the boards and driving the net to screen goalies. If he’s going to stick on a roster that has better depth players, Rempe should be used in certain matchups, such as Boston, Florida, Ottawa, and Washington. Other rivals have gone away from dressing enforcers.

For the Rangers, there are bigger issues that are a concern entering Tuesday’s season opener at home against the Pittsburgh Penguins on ESPN. They skated without Panarin during the preseason. Obviously, he’s their leading scorer who drives play and creates plenty of offense for teammates. Without him, they struggled to sustain anything against the Devils in a recent home defeat. Panarin is the straw that stirs the drink on a scoring line with Vincent Trocheck and Alexis Lafreniere. If he has to miss any time during the regular season, it would really hurt the offense. He also is a key on the power play, which will also need Miller as the net front presence on the top unit.

The most recent update was that Miller took regular practice with his line while Panarin skated on his own. In training camp, he dealt with two injuries. The first was an upper-body and the most recent was a lower-body issue. With the Rangers sending down Gabe Perreault to Hartford for the start of the AHL season, that likely means that Panarin should be ready for Tuesday night. Miller is expected back for the first game wearing the ‘C’ as the Rangers’ 29th captain in franchise history.

Decisions Still Need to Be Made

With the Rangers not placing anyone on waivers earlier today, they still have some decisions to be made. Currently, 15 forwards remain on the roster.

That includes Noah Laba, who scored on the power play for the team’s only goal in their preseason finale. A nice deflection of an Adam Fox point shot. Laba finished with two goals and four assists to lead the Blueshirts in scoring. If they decide to keep him, it would likely come at the expense of Brett Berard. He also had a good camp, but could start with the Wolf Pack due to the numbers game.

If they sign veteran Conor Sheary, who’s a Sullivan favorite from his days spent with the Penguins, then there would be no room to keep both Laba and Berard. Sheary had a strong showing, which included getting reps with both Laba and Juuso Parssinen on the third line. He also killed penalties. An experienced player who still has good wheels, Sheary brings grit and hustle. Similar to the younger Berard, who might need some work defensively. That’s exactly why Brennan Othmann was sent down sooner.

By signing Taylor Raddysh, the Rangers view him as a depth forward who can play on a support line. He put up 27 points on the Washington Capitals last season. He didn’t look that impressive in preseason, but Raddysh isn’t going anywhere. It’s either going to be Raddysh or Sheary who are likely penciled in on the third line to begin the season.

Sullivan had Laba remain at center and practice with Parssinen playing the left side in a recent practice. Both bring size and are responsible defensively. Each did okay on faceoffs. Sullivan prefers to use his third line for matchups. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to have Laba and Parssinen line up with Sheary. Assuming the latter is signed out of his PTO.

That would leave Jonny Brodzinski, Sam Carrick, Adam Edstrom, Raddysh, and Rempe for the fourth line. From everything we’ve gathered, Sullivan seems to prefer Carrick between Edstrom and Rempe. A line that played together in 2024-25. However, both Brodzinski and Raddysh are better skaters than Rempe. That would give him some options. It all depends on what he wants to do for select matchups, which should be based both on the opponent and on who deserves to play.

Defense Down to Seven

By assigning Scott Morrow to Hartford, it looks like the Rangers could be decided on Matthew Robertson as the extra defenseman. Having seen Robertson, he isn’t the fastest skater. He relies more on his size and positioning. A left defenseman, he hasn’t proven he should be in the top six, which remains unsettled.

Even though they’re down to seven defensemen, with Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov locked in as the top pair, both the second and third pairs remain sketchy. Is the plan to have Braden Schneider eventually move up to play on his weak side with Will Borgen in the top four? Schneider is obviously a better skater than Carson Soucy, who has paired up with Borgen before in Seattle. But would they really trust Soucy and Borgen together when neither has the best defensive metrics. Even though I’m not big on that stuff, neither Soucy nor Borgen are great skaters. You can’t have them together against a faster and more skilled opponent. That isn’t good optics.

Schneider has teamed with Urho Vaakanainen on the third pair before. They’re familiar with each other. It really hinges on Schneider, who needs a big season in a contract year. He really does have to become part of the solution in the top four. Otherwise, it could be another long, frustrating season on Broadway.

Waiver Options to Explore

If they so choose to, the Rangers could explore some waiver options for the blue line. Former Ranger Erik Gustafsson was placed on waivers at 2 EST. A good skater who can contribute offensively both at even strength and on the power play, which lacks another quarterback aside from Fox, the 33-year-old veteran had more success in the Big Apple than he did in Hockeytown. The downside is his defense, which is abysmal. He doesn’t look like a Sullivan player. There’s also the $2 million cap hit for the season. It’s doubtful they’d claim him.

Other candidates to look at are Calen Addison and Ville Heinola. Addison has more NHL experience, playing mostly in Minnesota and San Jose over two different seasons. Despite being capable offensively, he was inept defensively, which explains why he spent last year in the AHL.

Heinola is interesting. The former first round pick that the Rangers sent over with Neal Pionk to complete the Jacob Trouba deal, he’s never really been able to crack the Winnipeg Jets roster. Now 24, he’s totaled a goal and 10 assists for 11 points in 53 career games. A left defenseman who’s a good skater, the Finnish defenseman was part of three World Juniors for his country. Taking a flyer on him wouldn’t be a bad idea.

Rosters Submitted Tomorrow

On Monday, NHL teams will submit their final rosters. At that time, the Rangers will decide if they’re going to carry an extra forward. The current roster has 24 players. We know at least one has to go down. In the past, they’ve gone with 22 to start the season. However, with better depth, 23 is a good bet. We’ll see what they decide to do tomorrow.