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Rangers drop huge clue on how regular season lineup will shakeout

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Cite

Crane, A. (2026, September 25). Rangers drop huge clue on how regular season lineup will shakeout. New York Post. https://nypost.com/2026/09/25/sports/rangers-drop-huge-clue-on-how-regular-season-lineup-will-shakeout/

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

New York Post · collected 2026-09-25 · by Andrew Crane

Quick Summary

Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan indicated that Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits are likely to secure spots on the team's opening night lineup. During a preseason game against the Islanders, Rempe was placed on the fourth line while Smits skated with Braden Schneider, showing they're favored for final roster inclusion. Despite this positive outlook, Sullivan emphasized that Smits still needs to prove he can be an impactful player at the NHL level before being officially confirmed on the roster by Monday's deadline.
Written by AI on 2026-09-25, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

The New York Rangers provided clues about their regular-season lineup during a morning skate before playing against the Islanders at UBS Arena on Friday. Head coach Mike Sullivan noted that this practice session resembled a dress rehearsal more closely than previous ones and was likely indicative of the team's starting lineup for opening night. Specifically, fourth-line winger Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits appear to be strong contenders for the final two roster spots. However, no decisions will be finalized until Monday when the Rangers are required to reduce their roster to a maximum of 23 players. Additional skaters who may be on the bubble include defensemen Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow, along with forwards Taylor Raddysh and Jaroslav Chmelar.

Written for “Rangers Lineup Clues” on 2026-10-31, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Rangers Lineup Clues
Sports · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 5% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 6 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A reports on Adam Sykora's injury during a preseason game, while Article B discusses lineup decisions for another exhibition game.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 15 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss separate teams (Rangers and Islanders) making decisions about their final lineups for different preseason games.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 10 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles describe different events: one is about a preseason game lineup, and the other is about an opening night match where the Rangers were shut out by the Bruins.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Both articles discuss different aspects of a preseason game between the Rangers and Islanders, but focus on distinct elements (Rangers' lineup versus Islanders' key pairings).”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 13 claims Outlet record 66/100
“Article A describes the lineup for the preseason finale, while Article B reports on Matt Rempe making the opening night roster after being placed on waivers. These are different events.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 33 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles mention Alberts Smits and his performance for the Rangers, Article A describes Smits' assist in a specific preseason game on September 23rd, while Article B discusses the potential regular-season lineup on September 25th, indicating different events.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 12 claims Outlet record 66/100
“While both articles discuss Albert Smits making the Rangers' roster, they describe different aspects of this event occurring over two days.”
New York Post
Hedges 0 of 3 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss similar themes regarding youth movement and lineup decisions in the Rangers organization but describe different points or stages of the process.”
New York Post
Hedges 1 of 29 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles discuss Matt Rempe's role with the Rangers during training camp and preseason, but they describe different periods of time and do not clearly indicate they are reporting on the exact same specific event.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
20
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
5%
1 of 20 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
66/100
New York Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Sports
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-25 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

New York Post · 15411 article(s) · 35 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 35 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Andrew Crane
64 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
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Also by Andrew Crane
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 64 articles by Andrew Crane →

Topics

AHL Hartford Blueshirts Islanders NHL Rangers

Subjects

Rangers ORG · 6× Smits PERSON · 6× Sullivan PERSON · 5× Rempe PERSON · 4× AHL Hartford ORG · 2× NHL ORG · 2× Alberts Smits PERSON · 1× Blueshirts ORG · 1× Matt Rempe PERSON · 1× Mike Sullivan PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts and trim their roster to — at most — 23 players by Monday, but the scene at their morning skate before a match against the Islanders at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-09-25
🔮 Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts and trim their roster to — at most — 23 players by Monday, but the scene at their morning skate before a match against the Islanders at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling.
2026-09-25 · New York Post
Rangers drop huge clue on how regular season lineup will shakeout · assertive framing

Claims (20 extracted, 1 hedged)

When the Rangers unveiled their lineup Friday for the preseason finale, it served as “the closest thing to a full lineup that we’ve had of any of the exhibition games to this point,” head coach Mike Sullivan said. asserted
Sullivan → unveil → point
And that’d mean that fourth-line winger Matt Rempe and rookie defenseman Alberts Smits are seemingly in the driver’s seat for the final two spots for the Blueshirts’ opening night group. asserted
Rempe → mean → group
Nothing will become official until the Rangers make their final cuts and trim their roster to — at most — 23 players by Monday, but the scene at their morning skate before a match against the Islanders at UBS Arena that essentially served as a dress rehearsal was telling. asserted
that → become → rehearsal
Smits, as he has all preseason, skated with Braden Schneider. asserted
he → skate → Schneider
The extras who stayed on after the session as likely scratches included defensemen Matthew Robertson and Scott Morrow as well as forwards Taylor Raddysh and Jaroslav Chmelar. asserted
who → stay → Raddysh
While Sullivan didn’t provide many hints about the final calls, he said that Smits — picked No. 5 overall in June’s draft — has “certainly made a compelling argument through his play that he’s capable of playing in the NHL.” asserted
he → provide → NHL
Smits impressed Sullivan with his physicality and sharp passing as an 18-year-old, but similar to the Rangers’ call with Gabe Perreault last training camp, when they sent him to AHL Hartford, they want to ensure that Smits can be an impactful player on their roster. asserted
Smits → impress → roster
Both the left-handed Robertson and right-handed Morrow would have to clear waivers before getting assigned to AHL Hartford, while the left-handed Smits is waiver-exempt. asserted
Smits → have → Hartford
“I think it’s been evident to us that he has that already,” Sullivan said of Smits’ physical stature, “and it’s only gonna get better.” asserted
it → think → stature
The presence of Rempe alongside Tye Kartye and Joe Veleno continued the trend throughout training camp with the 6-foot-9 forward settling back in after being limited to just 26 games last year. asserted
forward → continue → games
He underwent two procedures on his left thumb, limiting what he could contribute with his stick. uncertain
he → undergo → stick
Rempe would need to clear waivers, too, while Chmelar can get assigned without the risk of being picked up by another team. asserted
Chmelar → need → team
Rempe knew entering training camp that he had a lot to prove, said he “wants to be here bad” and then collected eight hits during the Rangers’ preseason game against the Devils on Thursday. asserted
he → know → Thursday
And Sullivan, who reiterated that Rempe simply needs to play games, said Friday that the 24-year-old can be more than someone capable of fights and a few hits, too. asserted
old → reiterate → fights
“I think he has to be,” Sullivan said. asserted
Sullivan → think → ?
“When you look at the nature of how the game’s being played today, if a player, if their value is only in their ability to fight, how many fights does the average NHL fighter get in the course of a season? asserted
fighter → look → season
“So if he’s only gonna make an impact five or six times a year … you would all say that there needs to be other elements to a player’s game. asserted
you → go → game
And I think Remps brings other elements. asserted
Remps → think → elements
I think players of his, in his category I think around the league bring more elements than just their ability to stick up for their teammates. asserted
I → think → teammates
They can create anxiety on the ice just by their presence.” Nathan Aspinall, Liam Greentree, Drew Fortescue, Cole Beaudoin, Jackson Dorrington and Carey Terrance were all assigned to the Wolf Pack. asserted
Aspinall → create → Pack
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