Rangers Vs. Flyers: Player And Position Evaluations (Part Two)

You guys should know how this works already. If you don't, check out the top of this story.

Anthony Duclair (It's not a game anymore): If the start of Duclair's camp was a hopeful "maybe he'll give the coaches something to think about" mentality, that ideology is gone now. Duclair scored another goal last night, bringing his preseason totals up to three goals and two assists in three games. It's more than just the stats, though. Duclair is far more responsible in his own end than I could even hope for from watching him in the QMJHL, and he is always in the dangerous areas of the ice. His goal was the result of a pass placed so perfectly by Dominic Moore that he might have actually placed it by hand, but Duclair still needed to finish. Outside of that, his strip of the puck in the offensive zone and drive to the net (that drew a power play) was just another moment that catches your eye. I'm going to have a longer story on him later, but I don't see any way he doesn't make the team out of camp. Does he stick? That's the real question right now.

Kevin Hayes (Pretty good): On the stat-sheet it was a quiet night for Hayes in terms of points; but he played just under 18 minutes, saw over four minutes on the power play and over two minutes on the penalty kill. That, to me, might be where Hayes has an edge over some of the other guys fighting for a spot. Hayes is responsible enough in his own end that he can play on the penalty kill, while offensive enough that he can play on the power play. No, he won't see that kind of power play time once the real games start, but he's shown me he can figure it out at this level. He didn't look out of place at all last night, and I noticed him (in good ways) a lot.

Oscar Lindberg (Very quiet): Lindberg had a very quiet game, which doesn't bode very well for his fight for a roster spot. The biggest plus to Lindberg's game has been his defense. He had a major gaff his first preseason game and was quiet against the closest thing to a real team he's seen all camp. It's wasn't a horrible performance by any means, I'm just not sure it was good enough.

Ryan Haggerty (Rude awakening): OK, remember how yesterday I was talking about the major concern revolving around Haggery is what he does when he isn't on offense? That was in the spotlight on Tuesday. He played less than 10 minutes in a closely contested game because -- I'm assuming -- Alain Vigneault didn't really see enough to trust him in close situations. He didn't even register a shot on net. I'm not so sure he survives the cuts at noon today.

Mat Bodie (Strange situation): It's sort of a strange situation for Bodie. Tuesday was his first preseason game, which doesn't exactly speak volumes for him making the team -- which was really not happening anyway. But him not playing until last night also means Vigneault didn't really think he was ready to fight for any spots and needed to see some other defenseman more. Bodie was OK in some spots and shaky in others. It doesn't help that one of his biggest knocks is his small frame and that was on display Tuesday night (admittedly against a real Flyers team). I'm not sure he survives cuts this afternoon, either.

Matt Hunwick (Currently winning the 7th defenseman race): Hunwick played a really good 19 minutes on Tuesday. He saw four minutes of the power play (where he actually looked OK) and played a pretty good defensive game. It was a good gauge for him -- since he was going up against a real Flyers team -- and I thought he handled the spotlight well enough to make up for the first game disaster he was a part of. He's a better option than Michael Kostka and Steven Kampfer; and I don't think the Rangers truly want Conor Allen or Dylan McIlrath twirling in the 7th defenseman world.

Conor Allen (The stars aren't aligning): It wasn't that Allen was bad Tuesday night (he wasn't), I just don't see Vigneault keeping him as a 7th defenseman. The team likes him a lot and he might have some room to grow despite being on the older side. I don't think I see him lasting beyond this afternoon.

Danny Kristo (Same as Allen): Kristo played over five minutes on the power play Tuesday to go along with 17 total minutes. Like Allen, I'm not sure the stars are going to align for him. He's clearly talented and can hang offensively, but I don't think he does enough to get past the people in front of him. He's had a fine showing in camp, but I'm not sure how he makes this team this year.

Thoughts?