Rangers Set Power Play Units for Opening Night

The New York Rangers have set their opening night power play units ahead of seeing action against the Pittsburgh Penguins in night one of the 2025-26 NHL regular-season.
Mar 22, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images
Mar 22, 2025; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) skates against the Vancouver Canucks during the second period at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images / Danny Wild-Imagn Images
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Ahead of opening night, the New York Rangers have set their power play units.

The Rangers are one of six teams — the Chicago Blackhawks, reigning Stanley Cup Champions Florida Panthers, Pittsburgh Penguins, Colorado Avalanche, and the Los Angeles Kings) who see action on the NHL's opening night. New York will host new head coach Mike Sullivan's former team of the Pittsburgh Penguins. Puck drop is slated for 8:00 p.m. EST at Madison Square Garden.

As previously mentioned, power play units for the Blueshirts have since been revealed:

PP1 — Adam Fox, Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, Mika Zibanejad and J.T. Miller

None of the players on the core power play unit are a surprise, with all five being league veterans who have seen top PP action in the past.

Panarin is coming off his fifth 80-point season with the Rangers, which makes him tied for the most in team history.

PP2 — Braden Schneider, Conor Sheary, Will Cuylle, Alexis Lafrenière and Matt Rempe

Rempe's addition to the power play unit has turned heads. The 6'9", 261 23-year-old player is most well known for being an enforcer; but, he's also coming off his first full season in the league which saw him log eight total points (three goals, five assists).

While none of these were tallied on the power play — it's expected Sullivan is going to be utilizing Rempe on the power play for net-front strategies, given his size.

The full projected lineups for both the Penguins and the Rangers, as released by NHL.com, are as follows:

Rangers projected lineup

Will Cuylle — J.T. Miller — Mika Zibanejad

Artemi Panarin — Vincent Trocheck — Alexis Lafreniere

Conor Sheary — Noah Laba — Taylor Raddysh

Adam Edstrom — Sam Carrick — Matt Rempe

Vladislav Gavrikov — Adam Fox

Carson Soucy — Will Borgen

Urho Vaakanainen — Braden Schneider

Igor Shesterkin

Jonathan Quick

Scratched: Jonny Brodzinski, Jusso Parssinen, Matthew Robertson

Injured: None

Penguins projected lineup

Rickard Rakell — Sidney Crosby — Ville Koivunen

Anthony Mantha — Evgeni Malkin — Justin Brazeau

Tommy Novak — Ben Kindel — Philip Tomasino

Connor Dewar — Blake Lizotte — Noel Acciari

Parker Wotherspoon — Erik Karlsson

Ryan Shea — Kris Letang

Caleb Jones — Harrison Brunicke

Arturs Silovs

Tristan Jarry

Scratched: Filip Hallander, Mathew Dumba, Connor Clifton

Injured: Kevin Hayes (upper body), Rutger McGroarty (upper body), Bryan Rust (lower body)

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Jennifer Streeter
JENNIFER STREETER

Jennifer Streeter graduated with a B.A. in journalism from Texas A&M and received her Master of Science from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism. At both schools, she focused on an emphasis of sports reporting. A former athlete herself, "Jenny" was a varsity soccer player and comes from a family who participated in NCAA athletics. She has covered everything from the 2025 Hughes Bowl, SEC football, Ivy League athletics, the 2023 ALCS and the 2023 World Series, the WNBA, and much more.