Rangers Camp at the Halfway Point: Sykora Out Months, Smits Pushing for Opening Night

The Rangers are two preseason games into a short camp. Opening night against Boston is next Tuesday, and Jim Cerny runs through who's up and who's down.

Adam Sykora will miss 4-5 months with a lower-body injury from Monday's game against the Devils. Jim didn't see a path for Sykora to the opening-night roster, but his energy and leadership will be missed in Hartford. The upside is depth. Eeli Tolvanen joins the bottom six, and Liam Greentree and Cole Beaudoin are pushing from the AHL.

Alberts Smits is the story of camp. The No. 5 overall pick has skated with the NHL group and alongside Braden Schneider every day. After his poised preseason debut against the Islanders, Jim thinks he has the inside track. Jim also covers:

• Where Smits' arrival leaves Matthew Robertson, Drew Fortescue and Scott Morrow
• What Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson change on the second pair
• The last fourth-line spot, between Taylor Raddysh, Matt Rempe and Jaroslav Chmelar
• Whether the Rangers carry three goalies to protect Dylan Garand
• Why Pavel Dorofeyev might be the Rangers' first true sniper since Marian Gaborik, and a J.T. Miller who looks energized

Plus updates on former Rangers Brennan Othmann, Jonny Brodzinski, Carson Soucy and Cam Talbot.

Coming up: Rink Rap is recording at Mustang Harry's near Madison Square Garden to kick off the season. Watch Forever Blueshirts on X for details, and read more at ForeverBlueshirts.com.