The Rangers and Islanders may spend another season measuring themselves against each other, but the gap between them isn’t nearly as simple as last year’s standings line suggested.
The Islanders finished with 91 points, the Rangers with 77, and that 14-point split still looks strange on paper. But both teams have changed enough that last season only tells part of the story. The real answer won’t come until training camp is over and the opening night lineups are locked in.
Start with the Islanders, who made the loudest move when they cut ties with Patrick Roy late in the season. Mathieu Darche has now had a year to reshape the operation, and his biggest step so far was bringing in Peter DeBoer as head coach.
The Darche plan also leans heavily on prospect development. On top of that, the Islanders have a true difference-maker in Matthew Schaefer, a rookie defenseman who has already shown he could matter to the franchise in a way that recalls what Denis Potvin meant in the Nassau Dynasty Years.
That doesn’t mean the Rangers are out of the picture. Chris Drury has made moves of his own, and the hope is that additions like Oliver Bjorkstrand and Pavel Dorofeyev end up being more than offseason decoration. Like the Islanders, the Rangers are expected to keep adding youth wherever they can.
The backup goalie situation is a concern on both sides. For the Islanders, the hope is that Semyon Varlamov can come back healthy, but that’s still a day-to-day question.
Vitek Vanecek sits behind him as the backup to the backup. The Rangers are carrying Joonas Korpisalo along with Dylan Garand, who earned his shot late last season.
The starters, though, are the anchors. Ilya Sorokin and Igor Shesterkin were both pushed too hard last season, and that wore on them.
Sorokin’s late-season drop-off helped sink the Islanders’ playoff hopes. Shesterkin’s issues showed up earlier, though he should have more help this time if the Rangers’ defense does its job and Adam Fox stays in top form.
There’s also the matter of tone, and that’s been a real issue for the Rangers. As Joe Micheletti once put it, the club "lacked spirit."
That problem still hangs over the team, whether the blame falls on the coach or captain J.T. Miller.
The Islanders, by contrast, have brought in Peter DeBoer, who should help on the energy front, and a new captain is expected soon.
So where does that leave the rivalry? At the moment, there isn’t much on the page to suggest the Rangers have enough to jump the Islanders in the Metro Division.
But games aren’t played on a spreadsheet, and that’s why this still has to be settled the old-fashioned way. Best to wait and see.
In Other News...
Former Rangers Defenseman Just Landed In An Awkward Metro Spot
Carson Soucy is headed to a familiar corner of the Metro, this time on a professional tryout with the Columbus Blue Jackets as he prepares for another training camp look. A veteran of seven NHL seasons, Soucy spent last season bouncing between the Rangers and Islanders, and now hell try to turn a PTO into a roster spot in Columbus.
For the Blue Jackets, the fit is fairly straightforward: Soucy is expected to compete for work on the third defensive pair or as the seventh defenseman. For the Rangers, it is another reminder of how quickly the defense market can shift within the division, especially when a player with Soucys experience is still in the mix and still looking for a landing spot. [Read more 🡒]
Rangers Rookie Weekend Raised One Big Question About Their Young Talent
Liam Greentree got one of the weekends few bright spots for the Rangers prospects in Allentown, scoring his first goal in a New York sweater during a 4-1 loss to the Flyers at PPL Center. The rookie series had already tilted Philadelphias way after a 3-2 result on Saturday, and the two-game sweep left the Rangers looking for more finish and more consistency from a young group that had stretches of promise but not enough to change the outcome.
Danai Shaiikov gave them a chance to hang around in goal, turning in a solid outing with several key stops even as the Flyers kept the pressure on. For a weekend meant to sort through the organizations young talent, Greentrees breakthrough and Shaiikovs work in net offered some encouraging pieces, but the bigger question remains how many of those flashes can carry over once the games start counting for real. [Read more 🡒]
Cole Beaudoin Just Turned Into A Real Rangers Camp Battle
Cole Beaudoin is one of the more intriguing young names around Rangers camp this fall, a player arriving with a fresh start and a clear goal. Acquired from Utah in a July 1 trade tied to Vincent Trocheck, Beaudoin is still at the point where every practice and preseason shift matters, especially as he prepares to launch his pro career after two seasons with the Barrie Colts in the OHL.
For the Rangers, the question is less about whether Beaudoin has long-term potential and more about where he fits right now in a crowded competition. He is trying to win an NHL job out of camp, but the more realistic path may begin with Hartford in the AHL, where he would get the kind of minutes and development time that are hard to guarantee at the big-league level. [Read more 🡒]