Rangers hoping Reilly Smith is good fit to play with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider
Rangers right wing Reilly Smith skates during training camp at the team's training facility in Greenburgh, N.Y., on Saturday. Credit: Neil Miller
There’s been a revolving door of right wings taking turns playing on the Rangers’ top line, with Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, ever since Pavel Buchnevich was traded away in the summer of 2021.
This year, the organization is hoping that 33-year-old Reilly Smith, who was acquired in a July 1 trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins, can lock down that spot next to Kreider and Zibanejad and provide some stability for the lineup.
Smith, the younger brother of former Rangers defenseman Brendan Smith, suited up alongside Kreider and Zibanejad on Tuesday night in the preseason home opener against the Islanders.
“I think the most important thing for me to try to gel with them, is just playing fast,’’ Smith said in the morning, before the Rangers rallied from three goals down to beat the Islanders, 6-4. “Get up and down the ice as fast as possible.’’
Smith didn’t score a point, but Kreider had two goals in the Rangers’ comeback, a 6-on-5 goal that tied it at 4-4 with 1:19 remaining, and an empty-netter with 10.4 seconds left that put the game away.
“That line had some chances and some zone time, and then they looked good on the power play too,’’ Rangers coach Peter Laviolette said of the Kreider-Zibanejad-Smith combo. “There was something there. Yeah, I thought they were good.’’
Zac Jones, trying to lock down the sixth defenseman spot, had two goals and an assist for the Rangers, who trailed 3-0 and 4-1 before scoring five straight goals to pull out the win.
Jones’ first goal came on a breakaway as he scored on a nifty backhand shot. His second goal was a blast from the point.
Filip Chytil, who left the game with a leg injury in the first period, returned and scored a key goal in the third period to start the comeback.
The Rangers did have a couple of injuries in the game, though. Artemi Panarin left with 6:25 remaining and the Rangers trailing 4-1 with what Laviolette said was a lower-body injury.
Defenseman Ryan Lindgren suffered an upper-body injury in a fight with Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in the first period, after Mayfield had dropped Chytil at center ice with a hard hit and forced him out of the game.
Both Panarin and Lindgren were being evaluated, Laviolette said.
Chytil’s goal, on a power play, made it 4-2. He scored on a rebound from the slot area.
Jones’ second goal, with the goalie pulled for the extra skater, made it 4-3 at 17:48 of the third.
Kreider tied it at 4, and then 6-8 Adam Edstrom, battling to try and earn an opening night spot (considered a long shot), tipped in a shot by Jacob Trouba for the go-ahead goal with 37.9 seconds left.
Blue notes
The lineup for the first home game included eight forwards and four defensemen expected to be in the opening night lineup, as well as goalies Igor Shesterkin and Jonathan Quick. Forwards Chytil, Jake Leschyshyn and Brennan Othmann all played their second game, after playing in the preseason opener Sunday in Boston. Defenseman K’Andre Miller and center Sam Carrick have yet to play in the preseason . . . Defenseman Matthew Robertson (lower body), goalie Talyn Boyko and center Ryder Korczak (both upper body) did not practice. All are day-to-day.
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.
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