The New York Rangers got their first look at a revamped blue line Tuesday night, and even in a 4-3 preseason loss to the New York Islanders, Mike Sullivan saw the part he wanted to see most.
After last season ended with the Rangers finishing last in the Eastern Conference and 30th overall, Sullivan made puck-moving defensemen a priority. General manager Chris Drury answered on July 1 with trades for Sean Durzi from the Utah Mammoth and Marcus Pettersson from the Vancouver Canucks, and both were on display in New York’s preseason home opener.
“I think the biggest thing that jumps out to me is our ability to move the puck is much improved,” Sullivan told reporters postgame.
That’s a meaningful shift for a defense group that had little behind Adam Fox in 2025-26. Fox was excellent when healthy, skating at just shy of a point-per-game pace, but he missed 27 games across two separate stints on long-term injured reserve. The Rangers felt that absence.
Durzi and Pettersson are expected to form the second pair behind Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, and Sullivan made it clear why the two fit the bill.
“I think ‘Durz’ is a guy - he’s mobile. He gets back to pucks.
He can make that first pass, make the outward pass. He has good puck skills,” Sullivan explained.
“Marcus is big and long. He’s hard to play against.
But Marcus sees the game pretty well, and he has the ability to move the puck also.”
Sullivan knows Pettersson’s game well from their years together with the Pittsburgh Penguins, where the Swedish defenseman reached 20 assists three times from 2018-25, including a career-high 30 points in 2023-24.
Durzi’s track record is more defined by flashes interrupted by injuries, but when he’s healthy, he brings exactly the kind of movement the Rangers were missing. He opened camp on the second pair with Pettersson and stayed there in Tuesday’s preseason debut.
The early returns were encouraging. Durzi logged a team-high 23:32, finished plus-2, and picked up the secondary assist on Cole Beaudoin’s opening goal at 8:23 of the first period.
He also stood up Matthew Schaefer in the second period and disrupted a potential breakaway. Pettersson added two blocked shots, went plus-1, and played 21:50.
“We’ve talked a handful of times about that particular pair and just being real encouraged with their ability to move the puck, and helping us get out of our end a little cleaner,” Sullivan said. “Also on the offensive blue line, just having the vision to see plays that are there. I think adding those two guys to our defense core just has really improved our ability to move the puck from the blue line.”
The pair does not have much time to build chemistry before the regular season begins against the Bruins in Boston on Sept. 29. With the condensed camp and the new CBA limiting players with at least 100 NHL games to two preseason appearances, Durzi and Pettersson are eligible for only one of New York’s two remaining games - Thursday against the New Jersey Devils at MSG or Friday’s rematch with the Islanders at UBS Arena.
That hasn’t dulled their confidence.
“It takes reps learning somebody’s tendencies out there and everything,” Pettersson said before Tuesday’s game. “Especially with the shortened camp as well, you’ve got to make sure you’re sharp every day.”
“Right now it’s just focusing on how we can become better and be ready for game one,” Durzi noted.
Durzi said the process is about learning where his partner wants the puck and how the two can support each other.
“I think a big part of this is kind of just finding out what my teammates like, where they like pucks, where they’re going to be. It’s ‘how do we play for each other on the ice?’
It’s ‘where do you want me to be?’ Things like that.
It’s the stuff you can only get from game reps. Only two preseason games to find out, so it’s going to be a lot of fun to kind of get out there and go to war with them.”
Pettersson said the communication has already been strong.
“It’s gonna be a lot of fun. I think we’ve had some good talks.
I feel comfortable with him,” Pettersson said. “Our communication has been really good so far.”
On paper, the fit makes sense. Pettersson’s steadiness can give Durzi room to push play, and both defensemen can move the puck. Pettersson praised Durzi’s skating and called him “an amazing talent,” while Durzi returned the favor by noting that Pettersson’s puck-moving may be underrated and that he helps teammates all over the ice.
If that pairing settles in quickly alongside Fox and Gavrikov, the Rangers’ defense could look a lot different this season.
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