Rangers' morning practice group looks more like opening roster
Rangers' Noah Laba plays the puck against Islanders right wing Simon Holmstrom during a preseason game on Thursday at Madison Square Garden. Credit: Noah K. Murray
GREENBURGH — The Rangers didn’t make any cuts on Friday, but halfway through the preseason, they’ve made some decisions.
The 25 players who took part in the morning practice included all of the big names, even Artemi Panarin, who skated on his own the previous three days as he recovered from a lower-body injury suffered last Friday. Panarin returned to practice Friday and wore a non-contact jersey.
The afternoon group featured a lot of younger players along with some veteran minor-leaguers. They were coached by Hartford coach Grant Potulny and his staff.
So 12 days before the Oct. 7 season opener against Pittsburgh, the roster has split into distinct groups: the Rangers and the Hartford Wolf Pack.
“These are always difficult decisions,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “As we said to the players, just because we made these decisions today doesn’t mean they’re etched in stone. There’s going to be some guys that are going to continue to get opportunities to play some exhibition games, and we’ll watch the rest of the camp evolve and ultimately try to make the best decisions for our respective players but also our team.’’
Brett Berard, who played 35 games for the Rangers last season, was in the morning group. So was rookie pro Noah Laba, who’s been getting noticed a lot lately. But first-round picks Brennan Othmann, who scored a power-play goal in Thursday’s 5-4 loss to the Islanders, and Gabe Perreault, who scored in each of the first two games, were in the afternoon group.
“That’s kind of out of my control, so that part I’m not overly focused on,’’ Laba said when asked if he thought being in the morning group meant he has a good chance to make the opening night roster. “I’m just trying to put my best foot forward, work as hard as I can, learn as much as I can from those guys, whether that be watching them or competing against them. So just learning a lot and trying to continue to improve.’’
A fourth-round pick in 2022, Laba, 22, signed his entry-level contract last spring after three years at Colorado College. He played 11 games for Hartford after his college season was over and had three goals and two assists. He also had an impressive showing in rookie camp and carried that success into main camp.
He has played in all three games and produced four assists to lead the Rangers in preseason scoring. His most recent assist was a slick between-the-legs drop pass from behind the net to Berard, who scored to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead on Thursday.
“I knew I had a guy coming on me, and I saw Brett kind of just standing in front of the net alone,’’ Laba said. “So I just thought [I’m] gonna do what I can to get the puck to him the quickest. So that happened to be between the legs.’’
A 6-3, 214-pound center, Laba has entered the discussion as a candidate for the third-line center position and is battling Juuso Parssinen for that spot.
Notes & quotes: Center Justin Dowling (lower-body injury) skated on his own, with a coach.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
More Rangers
