Rangers roster projection 2.0: Adam Edström stakes his claim, Victor Mancini surges

The New York Rangers entered camp without many questions about their opening night roster, but injuries to Ryan Lindgren (upper body) and Jimmy Vesey (lower body) have led to competition for the teams final spots.

Tuesdays lineup against the New Jersey Devils was likely the last opportunity for players battling for roster spots to make an impression in a preseason game setting.

Coach Peter Laviolette will likely ice a lineup Friday resembling the one that will take the ice in Wednesdays regular-season opener against the Pittsburgh Penguins .

Advertisement New York trimmed its roster before Tuesdays game, sending Jaroslav Chmelar, Bryce McConnell-Barker, Dylan Roobroeck and Adam Sykora to AHL Hartford and releasing Adam Erne and Madison Bowey from their professional tryout agreements.

Erne and Bowey will both go to Hartford on PTOs.

The Rangers also put Louis Domingue , Anton Blidh , Brandon Scanlin and Casey Fitzgerald on waivers, according to PuckPedia, so theyll likely head to Hartford too if they clear.

If the waiver players clear and are sent to the AHL, the Rangers roster will go down to 32 players.

That number includes Lindgren and Vesey, as well as Ryder Korczak , Riley Nash and Matthew Robertson , who have all missed either some or all of camp with injuries.

Taking them out of the equation, the Rangers have 27 players fighting for spots.

If the Rangers want a similar roster construction to most of last year theyll carry 22 healthy players: 13 forwards, seven defensemen and two goalies.

After five preseason games, heres how Im projecting the opening night roster will look, excluding the players who have missed time with injury.

Forwards On the roster (13): Jonny Brodzinski , Sam Carrick , Filip Chytil , Will Cuylle , Adam Edstrom , Kaapo Kakko , Chris Kreider , Alexis Lafreniere , Artemi Panarin , Matt Rempe , Reilly Smith , Vincent Trocheck , Mika Zibanejad Cut (3) : Brett Berard , Bo Groulx , Brennan Othmann Veseys injury opened a roster spot, and Edstroms strong preseason makes him a prime candidate to fill in on the fourth line.

Hes chipped in offensively, adding his third preseason goal against the Devils by backhanding in his own shot attempt.

At 6-foot-7, he has size and could play on a line with the 6-8 Rempe.

Laviolette tried that out last season.

Like Edstrom, Othmann made his NHL debut last season.

Hes an interesting case.

A 2021 first-round pick, hes shown flashes this preseason, including on Tuesday when he collected a pair of assists.

The big question for him as with many young players is consistency.

If Laviolette isnt ready to have him in the lineup regularly, its better to have Brodzinski as the No.

13 forward and let Othmann get regular playing time in Hartford.

Advertisement In a development that could affect the roster, Panarin left Tuesdays game early with a lower-body injury, the second time hes done so in as many preseason games played.

Laviolette did not have an update postgame other than that the wing is being evaluated, but if he misses time, the Rangers could either carry only 12 forwards or give a young player with skill like Othmann or Berard a shot to start the year skating with skilled players.

Berard got bumped up in the lineup when Panarin left the game.

Defensemen On the roster (7): Adam Fox , Zac Jones , Victor Mancini , KAndre Miller , Chad Ruhwedel , Braden Schneider , Jacob Trouba Cut (1): Connor Mackey Though considered a prospect with promise, Mancini entered camp as a long shot to make the NHL roster.

Now, after a strong preseason effort including a goal Tuesday against the Devils and the injury to Lindgren, that idea doesnt seem so far-fetched.

Hes outlasted other defensemen with NHL experience, including Ben Harpur and Casey Fitzgerald.

Hes taken down a lot of ice time in games from rookie camp through this camp here, Laviolette said Tuesday night.

Sometimes for young players that can be a little bit challenging.

And so the response he had tonight was really good.

...

He was definitely sharp with his game: his skating, his puck-moving and escapability in the defensive zone, the ability to jump in offensively.

With Fox, Miller, Schneider, Trouba and likely Jones as locks to make the roster, the final two defenseman jobs seem to be the spots most up for grabs as camp winds down.

Some of Mancinis chances come down to whether Laviolette is comfortable with him playing on the left side.

The 22-year-old has played there in spurts this preseason but has mostly been on the right.

Laviolette also might not trust him as much on the penalty kill as someone like Ruhwedel.

Mancini is also waiver-exempt, so the Rangers wouldnt have to worry about losing him if they sent him to Hartford.

Ruhwedel and Mackey would both require waivers.

Advertisement The 34-year-old Ruhwedel is an established defenseman with 364 career games and a Stanley Cup to boot.

Laviolette was pretty content having him as the seventh defenseman after his acquisition at the trade deadline last year.

He played only five games after coming over at the deadline.

If Laviolette opts to have Ruhwedel or Mackey as one of the six defensemen in the lineup, it doesnt make much sense to have Mancini in the NHL.

Hed benefit more from playing games than from watching in the press box.

Mackey, who scored his first goal of the preseason Tuesday, brings snarl and has fought twice this preseason.

And unlike Mancini and Ruhwedel, hes a natural left shot.

The 28-year-old hasnt had as standout a preseason as Mancini, but hell have a case for one of the final spots based on some of the boxes he checks.

Laviolette praised Mackeys physicality postgame and added the players competing for spots are, in general, really accountable for themselves with the way they play the game.

Thats what you want, and it makes it difficult when it comes to decision making, he said.

Goalies On the roster (2): Igor Shesterkin , Jonathan Quick Cut (1): Dylan Garand Barring injury, the goalie pair is set in stone.

Shesterkin is among the best in the league and Quick is coming off a strong first season as the Rangers No.

2.

The biggest question within the goalie group is not who makes the team.

Its whether Shesterkin, a pending unrestricted free agent, signs an extension before the season begins.

The Athletic previously reported his camp will not negotiate with the Rangers once the season begins.

(Top photo of Peter Laviolette and the Rangers bench: Rich Graessle / Getty Images).

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