LAVIOLETTE RELUCTANT TO MAKE DEFENSIVE PAIRINGS

 For What It’s Worth ...

The New York Rangers saved their worst – by far -- for 

last. About the only good that came out of Friday night’s 

dismal 5-2 loss to the NY Islanders … closing the 

preseason schedule for both teams… was that veteran 

defensemen ADAM FOX and K’ANDRE MILLER

 proved, once and for all, they should not play together … 

ever, never, no way, Jose … again. With RYAN 

LINDGREN out indefinitely with an injury thought to be 

a broken jaw suffered six minutes into the first exhibition 

Sept. 24. coach PETER LAVIOLETTE has been mixing 

and matching his four healthy returning starte plus 

Richmond’s ZAC JONES and a host of other hopefuls, 

trying to come up with a top six … in addition to a 

standby or seventh defenseman, the role Jones played (as 

a healthy scratch mostly) a season ago … when Lindgren 

and Fox formed the top pairing, with Miller and JACOB 

TROUBA No. 2 and BRADEN SCHNEIDER and

 ERIK GUSTAFSSONNo. 3. The latter signed as a free 

agent with Detroit during the off-season, making way for 

Jones to finally get a real crack at a regular job ... Prior to 

Friday’s game, in which the Rangers blew a 2-0 lead, 

Laviolette said he still hadn’t made up his mind. So Jones, 

who played two preseason matchups with Trouba, the 

team’s captain; one with rookie VICTOR MANCINI

 while sitting out two, was back with Trouba for two 

periods then with rookie MATTHEW ROBERTSON

 (primarily) in the third … playing his off side on the right 

while Robertson, who was put on waivers Sunday, stayed 

on his natural (left) side.

About Fox/Miller … although Fox, recipient of the 2022 

Norris Trophy (that goes to the NHL’s best defenseman), 

scored the Rangers’ second goal – and Miller got the 

second assist – with 8:54 gone, it was all uphill from 

there … The lowlight came when Miller first lost the 

puck behind the NY goal then, off-balance, inadvertently 

kicked the ensuing shot (or was it a pass?) by MAXIM

 TSYPLAKOV past a startled goalie IGOR 

SHESTERKIN for what proved the game-winner with 

24 seconds left in the second period … the second of two 

power-play goals by the Islanders … who got a pair of 

goals 24 seconds apart with fewer than three minutes 

remaining to put this one away. Fox gave up the puck to 

former Ranger ANTHONY DUCLAIR who fed

 MATTHEW BARZAL for a breakaway goal then 

Duclair scored unassisted … with Miller and Trouba on 

the ice for NY.

When/if he clears waivers, Robertson will be sent to the 

Rangers' top farm team in Hartford, Conn, where he 

played the past three seasons ... Also among those sent to 

the AHL Wolf Pack were prized rookie forward 

BRENNAN OTHMANN and defenseman CONNOR 

MACKEY.

Mini-quiz of the day … after the National Hockey League 

began its regular season with a pair of games in Prague, 

Czech Republic … while no less than 17 (of 106) 

exhibition matchups still on tap… including

Rangers-at-Islanders Friday -- six hours after the New 

Jersey Devils beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-1 to begin a 

grueling 82-game schedule … with playoffs to follow … 

Name another sport that plays games that count while still 

playing games that don’t.

In Friday’s Buffalo-New Jersey game, seen here on 

NHLN … it didn’t take long to be reminded how lucky 

we were to have seen the game back in the dark ages … 

when they let the players play … The first penalty of the 

2024-05 season was was for slashing. Touching, yes, 

slashing no … not when the offending party reaches from 

behind to put his stick on the rival’s stick … it’s doubtful 

the offended player noticed much less felt it.

Here’s hoping we won’t get E.J. HRDEK on play by 

play again. Talked incessantly … in a high-pitched voice. 

Wore us out listening to him. Almost felt sorry for analyst

 KEVIN WEEKESwho kept trying to lend some sanity 

to the Sabres/Devils telecasts.

....... Goochland’s JUSTIN VERLANDER, 41, winner of 

three 

Cy Young awards, says he wants one more year before 

calling it a career … despite an injury- plagued 2024 

campaign in which he was 5-6 (5.48) in 17 starts for the 

Houston Astros … and failed to pitch the required 140 

innings that would have guaranteed the big right-hander a 

$35 million contract in 2025 … when he now will be a free 

agent.

....... Check the visual evidence … and you would be hard-

pressed to think DiJONAI CARRINGTON’s’s finger-nails-

to-the-right-eye of CAITLIN CLARK wasn’t deliberate. 

That hasn’t kept anyone who asks Carrington about it – like 

USA Today’s CHRISTINE BRENNAN – from being 

called a racist by such people as former USWNT goalie

 MEGAN RAPINOE and fiance, WNBA’S SUE BIRD ... 

While they’re at it, Brennan’s detractors are demanding she 

has her WNBA credentials taken away so she can’t ask such 

“disingenuous questions” – Rapinoe called them – as “Did 

you do it on purpose?” again … Carrington said she didn’t 

but then how could she “when I don’t remember doing it?” 

… Again … look at the replay or even a telling still shot … 

then tell us, like Clark later insisted, that this was simply 

incidental contact.

Until next time ...