Kampf, a defence-first centre who was once a pivotal part of the Toronto Maple Leafs ' bottom-six and penalty kill, fell out of favour with head coach Craig Berube in the second half of the 2024-25 season, finishing the season with only 59 games played in comparison to 78 the year prior. He tallied five goals and 13 points in those games and was limited to only one playoff game, which came in the second round against the Florida Panthers.
After squandering another two-goal lead, the Isles were on the winning end of a game in which they've typically lost in the past. Trailing 3-2 with under three minutes remaining, Mat Barzal knotted the game at three after some nifty passing from Jonathan Drouin and Matthew Schaefer. Only twice in NY Islanders history The Isles took a too-many-men penalty in overtime after Schaefer jumped on the ice too quickly, as things looked bleak facing a potent Vegas Golden Knights power play at 4-on-3.
Noah Laba scored in his home town in front of dozens of friends and family. Jaroslav Chmelar made a good impression in his debut with 6:27 TOI, winning a fight, and looking pretty good overall. Artemi Panarin had a multi point game after shaving his head. And the powerplay actually scored a goal. Everything came up Milhouse for the Rangers last night, but now they travel back to the World's Most Haunting Arena,
Good, solid effort all around. I thought we played a smart game. It is a good team over there. They have a lot of good offense and fast players. I thought we did a good job of keeping them at bay for the most part. The penalty kill was good, and I thought everybody contributed tonight in their own way.
Tonight, freshly off a new $12 million contract extension, Markström was energized and rock solid. He stopped an incredible 43 of 44 shots (.977%), including all five high danger chances he faced. In total, his +3.12 goals saved above expected was one of the better individual goaltending performances this season.
Without him in that first period, obviously, we're not standing here happy about the game. So, it was phenomenal by him giving us some time to get our legs under us in a tough back-to-back.
Through five games, the 24-year-old Swede has averaged just 11:45 TOI - more than five minutes below last year's season average of 16:52. Holmstrom has recorded an assist on opening night, but has been held pointless since, and is a -4 on the season. Perhaps the most discouraging statistic for Holmstrom is his two shots on the season. While some may be worried about his inability to get pucks through towards the net this season, Patrick Roy sees no cause for concern.
We got a little taste of it during training camp and all the hype videos we saw. But he's so composed with the puck and he knows when to jump, when not to jump. His hockey IQ is amazing. He played great tonight for us.
So when the Rangers found themselves on the wrong end of a five-on-three power play in the closing minutes of their preseason opener Sunday afternoon against the Devils at the Prudential Center, it actually wasn't the worst thing for goalie Dylan Garand. "The PK stuff was actually pretty nice to get some reps in there," Garand said after the Rangers' 5-3 victory.