Rangers send Gabe Perreault, Scott Morrow to Hartford
Rangers right wing Gabe Perreault sets before a face off against the New Jersey Devils during the first period of an NHL preseason game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
GREENBURGH — With the team leaving for Saturday afternoon’s preseason finale in Boston and a weekend of team bonding in New England, the Rangers trimmed their roster to 24 Friday by assigning youngsters Gabe Perreault and Scott Morrow to their AHL team in Hartford. There is one more cut to make before Monday’s deadline for NHL teams to get to the 23-man roster limit for opening night.
Both Perreault, 20, and Morrow, 22, had impressed in the preseason. Each played in all five preseason games, and Perreault had goals in each of the first two, plus two assists, including the primary helper on Noah Laba’s overtime goal Monday against the Islanders. Morrow, a defenseman, had a goal and an assist.
“They're two young players that we're extremely excited about,’’ coach Mike Sullivan said. “These guys are, in our estimation, NHL players in the making. And our job is to try to create a pathway to try to help them grow and develop and to become . . . the impact players that we think they're capable of being.
“We believe that these guys have the potential to have a lasting impact on the New York Rangers.’’
With the moves, two young players, Brett Berard, 23, and Laba, 22, remain on the roster. Laba, a rookie pro, leads the team in preseason scoring (1 goal, 4 assists, 5 points) and is challenging for the third-line center spot.
The status of captain J.T. Miller could play into the decision as to whether Laba sticks around. Miller missed three days of practice with a lower body injury before returning Friday wearing a non-contact jersey. He’s unlikely to play Saturday, and the team will be off Sunday before returning to practice Monday in Rhode Island.
On Friday, Laba skated on a third line with Juuso Parssinen, his primary competition for the third center spot. Parssinen shifted to the wing, something he said he’s OK with.
“I feel like center is my main position, but these last few years, I played wing ([or] center,’’ Parssinen said. “So, I mean, I play whatever. It's fine for me.’’
Panarin, Miller status
Artemi Panarin, who was a late scratch from Thursday’s 3-1 preseason loss to the Devils, skated on his own Friday morning with a coach, the Rangers said.
Panarin has not played in any preseason games, but with the regular season beginning Tuesday at Madison Square Garden against Sullivan’s old team, Pittsburgh, the coach is hoping both Panarin and Miller will be ready to go.
“I think it's just a day-by-day thing at this point,’’ Sullivan said. “Our hope is that we'll have them for opening night, and we're trying to err on the side of caution with these guys, as we've said all along . . . We're hopeful that he'll be ready.’’
Panarin missed a week of practice with what the team called a lower body injury, suffered Sept. 19. He returned to practice Sept. 26 in a non-contact jersey, and progressed to the point where it appeared he would make his preseason debut Thursday. He took part in the morning skate, but then did not dress for warmups and did not play. This time, the team said it is an upper body injury he is dealing with.
Miller suffered a non-contact lower body injury in practice on Monday.
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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