With shortened preseason impacting chemistry, Rangers fall to Islanders

The new, shortened preseason forced NHL teams to do things a lot differently in this year’s training camp.

“It’s fast and furious,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said Monday night, after the Rangers’ opening preseason game against the Devils in New Jersey. “It almost doesn't feel like training camp. It feels more like practicing with your team to get them ready.’’

The Rangers’ plan for the preseason was to essentially identify 90% of their roster, keep that group together for the entire camp, and then, with so many new offseason additions to work in, put together line combinations and defense pairs to try and get a head start on building team chemistry. After sending a junior varsity lineup to Newark to play the Devils Monday, Sullivan and his coaching staff got their first look at the bulk of their opening night roster on Tuesday in the Rangers’ 4-3 loss to the Islanders at Madison Square Garden.

Without a lot of decisions to make as far as who will make the team, the main thing for Sullivan and his staff has been to try and create chemistry to carry into the regular season, which starts next Tuesday in Boston. And despite the fact they blew a 3-0 lead Tuesday, allowing the Isles to score three power-play goals in a comeback win, there were some positives they could take away, beginning with the performance of the top line of captain J.T. Miller flanked by newcomers Pavel Dorofeyev and Oliver Bjorkstrand.

“None of us have played together,’’ Bjorkstrand, a free agent signee this summer, said before the game his line. “So right now, I'm looking forward to tonight, where you get more of a better look together, and (are) trying to create communication and reads off each other.’’

On Monday, Miller had told Newsday, “we’re not there yet,’’ but the trio looked good on Tuesday, combining on Dorofeyev’s goal that made the score 2-0 at 6:03 of the second period. Dorofeyev took a feed from Bjorkstrand in the left circle and snapped a one-timer off his back foot past Isles goalie Ilya Sorokin.

“J.T.'s line, for me, had the best showing,’’ Sullivan said. “You could see the chemistry developing. The goal they score, Pav's goal, first of all, it's a goal scorer's goal. The release was elite, but it's a terrific play by all three of them. JT gets in on the forecheck, they're connected, coming out of that corner, they win the puck battles. Nice play by Ollie to get it to Pav.’’

Dorofeyev, the biggest addition to the team this summer after coming over from Vegas in a blockbuster draft day trade and then signing a seven-year, $77 million contract, said though it was only a preseason game, it was still nice to score.

“I mean, every single goal, I think it counts just for to feeling good as a player,’’ he said. “It's been a while since my last game, and I'm just excited to be back, and I was having fun today with the boys.’’

Aside from the top two lines, the defense pairs Tuesday – Adam Fox and Vladislav Gavrikov, Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson, and Braden Schneider with 18-year-old rookie Alberts Smits – looked the way they are expected to look on opening night, as well.

Fox and Gavrikov were the top pair last season, and summer additions Durzi and Pettersson are solid veterans, and form the second pair. Schneider reprises his role on the right side of the third pair, partnered with Smits, the No. 5 pick in this summer’s draft, who looked ready, after a strong performance Tuesday, to step right into the NHL.

By Colin Stephenson

colin.stephenson@newsday.comColinSNewsday

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.