It is July 29, and there is hockey on our TVs. This is not a drill. NY Rangers hockey is back. This may be an exhibition game, but it’s also a momentum building game. This is a game where you want the Rangers to be as crisp and as clean as possible. The outcome doesn’t really matter that much, but process does.
Everything heading into these playoffs is different. The long layoff changed injury status, changed development status, and even changed post-trade deadline status. Usually teams get a month after the deadline to gel.