The league has been dealing with a slew of injuries during the 2024-25 preseason, and the New York Rangers are no exception. Good teams are meant to weather such adversities, even this early in the year. As the Rangers’ preseason closed out, they have some interesting options at their disposal to fill the voids left by Ryan Lindgren, Jimmy Vesey, and possibly Artemi Panarin.
New York Rangers Injuries on the Blue Line
Lindgren has been a staple in the Rangers top six since his arrival during the 2018-19 season. However, injuries are no stranger to his style of play. Often times, Lindgren is able to surprise everyone and bounce back in far less time than initially anticipated. However, it seems like this won’t be the case to start the 2024-25 regular season. Dealing with an upper-body injury sustained in a fight against the New York Islanders’ Scott Mayfield, Lindgren’s status is week-to-week.
The Rangers have two options to fill the void. Will they go with the established NHL veteran in Chad Ruhwedel, or has the unheralded prospect Victor Mancini done enough to crack the Opening Night roster? Ruhwedel is the safer option because he’s an established NHL veteran with more than 300 games under his belt. Should the Rangers choose to maximize talent despite unavoidable growing pains, Mancini has separated himself from the rest of the (Hartford Wolf) pack to earn the call.
With his size, skating ability, and a surprisingly lethal wrist shot that has found the back of the net a couple times already, Mancinci is the more exciting option. The 22-year-old product out of the University of Nebraska-Omaha could follow the footsteps of the likes of K’Andre Miller and Braden Schneider in debuting before his 23rd birthday.
It’s worked so far for the Rangers, why not try it again with a kid who has so far proven himself more than capable?
Rangers Injuries Amongst the Forwards
It’ll be harder to replace Panarin’s production, but so far the Rangers seem to have avoided the worst case scenario with their star Russian winger. Listed day-to-day, one must hope the Rangers are being extremely cautious during the preseason.
Vesey seems to have suffered a more serious injury, an injury on par with Lindgren’s. Although the bottom-six forward’s game isn’t flashy by any means, his experience as a depth piece is incredibly valuable. Replacing what he brings to the table will be a bit more of a challenge than what most will be expecting.
The Rangers have two forwards who may have been on the outside looking in at the start of camp. However, have now played themselves to the forefront for consideration. Adam Edstrom had his cup of coffee in the NHL last year and impressed with his poise and 200-foot game. This training camp has been much the same. He’s also been scoring in almost every game and Ranger fans could very well get their Towers of Terror to start the season in Edstrom and Matt Rempe.
Another forward who has been making the most of his opportunity has been Brennan Othmann. He’s showcased it all for the Rangers this preseason; he’s been a pest, a goal scorer, and a distributor. Between his preseason performance last year and his three-game cameo during the 2023-24 regular season. This is the most comfortable Othmann has appeared on the ice. Can that translate into the regular season? The prospect has earned a chance to prove it.
Stats Heading into Final Preseason Game
Stats are usually meaningless in the preseason. However, for kids such as Mancini, Edstrom, and Othmann, important to put up as many points as possible. Considering the amount of games they’ve appeared in this preseason, it should come as no surprise to find all three amongst the team’s scoring leaders. None of these players would score in the pre-season finale against the Islanders.
Here’s how the young trio finished out the exhibition slate:
- Mancini – 2 Goals, 1 Assist;
- Edstrom – 3 Goals, 1 Assist (Not including Prospect Games);
- Othmann – 1 Goal, 3 Assists.
One wonders if the lineup was a preview of their Opening Night lines against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Oct. 9.
We’ll just have to wait and see. The Rangers are going to have to weather some early injuries. However, the options at their disposal are not only interesting but a little exciting.
