Zac Jones locking down regular spot in Rangers lineup

Zac Jones’ outstanding two-goal performance for the New York Rangers against the New York Islanders on Wednesday night not only helped fuel a 6-4 preseason win , but showed why he’s ready to hold down a regular spot in the lineup for the first time in his NHL career.

“It wasn’t a great first two periods for me but I knew I had to come out there in the third and make a name for myself, prove to [my] coaches that I can play night-in and night-out so I went out and did my best in the third,” Jones told reporters following the game.

Mission accomplished. Trailing 3-0 after two periods and 4-1 later in the third, Jones scored two goals and added an assist to help propel the comeback victory.

The Rangers skated 13 regulars against the Islanders, whose first line of Mathew Barzal, Bo Horvat, and Anthony Duclair combined for two of their team’s three goals to take a commanding lead into the third period.

“It felt like in the first two periods we were holding on to it a bit too long and making the extra play instead of putting the puck on net, and that really changed for us in the third [period],” Jones explained.

The first was a breakaway tally 6:09 into the final frame. Jones sent the Garden into a frenzy, picking up an open man at the point, defending the shot lane, and using his speed to create a rush play. His finish was sweet against Islanders rookie Henrik Tikkanen.

“I knew I had a stick on it, a jump on it I was just hoping there was somebody behind me, so I just took off. A great pass by [Adam Edstrom] to send me on a breakaway and the rest is history,” he said.

It is not the first time we’ve seen Jones score off the rush to help turn a game around. On Jan. 27 against the Ottawa Senators, the 23-year-old converted a 2-on-1 feed from Artemi Panarin to give the Rangers a 3-2 lead. They won 7-2 after trailing 2-0.

Jones also converted a blistering slap shot with Jonathan Quick pulled for the extra attacker, the opportunity teed up on the half-wall from Jacob Trouba.

The icing on the cake for Jones was his secondary assist on Edstrom’s game-winning goal on a redirection in front with less than a minute to play.

Related: Rangers notebook: Coach hopes injured Artemi Panarin can play again in preseason

Zac Jones ‘dialed in’ with partner Jacob Trouba in Rangers preseason win

Jones finished the night with two goals, one assist, 24:57 TOI, and earned the second Star of the Game honor. That’s called locking down a spot that was his to lose when training camp started.

Paired with Trouba for most of the game, it’s a potential defensive pairing for the Rangers if the club decides to promote Braden Schneider to the second pairing with K’Andre Miller. It’s the most likely outcome if Trouba continues to struggle as he had in the 2024 Stanley Cup playoffs.

It should be noted that Trouba had a strong game against the Islanders, one that included two key assists.

“It felt really good. It’s the preseason, there’s going to be hiccups,” Jones told reporters. “We haven’t really played too much together … the first two periods we were just getting our legs under us, but I thought we were dialed in the third [period].”

Jones skated in 31 games in 2023-24, playing crucial minutes at the end of the season when defensemen Erik Gustafsson, Trouba and Ryan Lindgren were all sidelined. Before that, the most games he had played in a season was 16 in 2022-23.

The defender has taken everything in stride, shuttling between the Hartford Wolf Pack and the big club for two seasons, and skating as the Rangers seventh defenseman last season. He even lived in a hotel near the Rangers practice facility to start 2023-24 because he was unsure he’d be with the big club all season.

“​​Definitely not that nice, but gets the job done. I can’t complain. Obviously there’s a lot of pros and cons to it, but you know, it is what it is,” Jones told the Hockey News last season. “It’s pretty easy to do my routine every day no matter where it is, a hotel or an apartment.”

Jones need not worry this season about renting an apartment. After Gustafsson signed with the Detroit Red Wings, the Rangers didn’t bring in any veteran competition for Jones on the third pair. It’s his job to lose.

In fact, he may have an increased workload to begin the season. Lindgren is out “at least a few weeks” with an upper-body injury, so it’s possible Jones could move up in the lineup, perhaps to second pair, if Miller slides up into Lindgren’s spot with Adam Fox.

This is his time to shine. And it appears Jones is up to the task.

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