As of this writing, the New York Rangers have played their second to last game of the preseason. They have won four out of five games so far and some players have stood out while others have yet to make their mark. In this piece, we are going to look at three Rangers that have to step up their game as the preseason comes to an end and the regular season begins in eight days time.
Kaapo Kakko
The 2024-25 season is truly the last chance for Kaapo Kakko to make a name for himself with the Rangers. Now entering his sixth season with the team, he has yet to truly establish himself in the NHL and has been very inconsistent throughout his career. Whether it was due to coaching decisions or injuries, it has not been smooth sailing for him in New York. He is coming off a 13-goal, 21-point season and signed a one-year contract in the offseason. He is looking to make a big impact this season, but so far, he has not been very noticeable.
Kakko scored his first goal of the preseason against the New Jersey Devils at Madison Square Garden and looked better in this game than he has in his previous two appearances so far this preseason. However, he still looks like a player that isn’t confident with shooting the puck and would rather hang onto it for too long than take the shot when it is available. He is likely going to start on the third line this season and if he plays like he is right now, this will likely be his last season in New York because he has shown no signs that he is going to get better than what he was.
Artemi Panarin
Artemi Panarin is coming off the best season of his career, scoring 49 goals and 120 points and looked poised to try and repeat that this season. However, this preseason has not gone well for him so far. In his first game, he left during the third period due to a lower-body injury. He missed one practice, but was back as a full participant for the next one. In his second game, he left after just four shifts in the first period and quite possibly reaggravated his previous injury. His current status is still unknown as of this writing.
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When he was playing in the first game, he looked very sloppy and was making mistakes that he should not be making. One of his turnovers even led to a goal for the New York Islanders. The Rangers need Panarin to be healthy and on top of his game to start the season because he is the team’s best offensive player. Without him, they would not have the successes that they have had over the past few years. If he is injured or plays poorly to start the season, that would be a worst case scenario for the Rangers.
Mika Zibanejad
While he has only played in two preseason games, Mika Zibanejad hasn’t looked like the game-changing player that he has in the past and looks similar to the player that he was last season. He and Chris Kreider have a new linemate in Reilly Smith and their line in the two games they played were just okay. While that is fine given that they are still trying to find chemistry, Zibanejad wasn’t really a factor and the other two players on his line looked better than him in those two games.
Zibanejad is going to play in the final preseason game against the Islanders and the Rangers are going to need to see him take his game up to another level as the regular season is upon us. He needs to become more of an offensive threat and has to start shooting the puck more. He has a very dangerous shot when he decides to use it and he never uses it enough. The other aspects of his game are still very good, but he needs to get back to being a dangerous offensive weapon for the Rangers sooner rather than later.
While these might be some overreactions since this is just preseason, these three players in particular have a lot to prove this season. Kakko has to show that he can take the next step, Panarin needs to show that last season can be replicated and Zibanejad has to bounce back after a drop in offensive production. So far, they have not shown that this will happen, but time will tell if they can flip the switch once the regular season begins next week.
