After a banged-up preseason campaign, the New York Rangers are entering the regular season with a fully healthy squad. The Blueshirts will begin their season with tonight’s opening matchup against the Buffalo Sabres at 7 p.m. EST.
Rangers fully healthy for opening night
A number of Rangers players picked up day-to-day injuries during the preseason and training camp. Among them were Mika Zibanejad, Filip Chytil, and Artemi Panarin.
However, these players have all made full recoveries and are healthy ahead of the team’s opening night matchup in Buffalo. According to Mollie Walker of the New York Post, new head coach Peter Laviolette said “everyone is 100% healthy and ready to go.”
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Staying healthy is the key to success
Getting off to a hot start in the regular season will be crucial for the Blueshirts. Their schedule has a tough beginning that will put immense pressure on Laviolette and his squad early on.
But with the roster fully healthy, New York has confidence it can hit the ground running in the opening games of the season. Additionally, the Rangers have plenty of depth players they can call up from the AHL this season.
If injuries do arise, Laviolette and GM Chris Drury have a wellspring of talent down in Hartford. While the team needs its top stars to maintain their health in the NHL, the Wolf Pack does feature enough talent to keep the team afloat.