The Rangers open on Tuesday at The Garden against Pittsburgh; and the excitement already is in our bones.

That goes for my Blue Collar Blue Shirt buddy Sean McCaffrey who beat me to a Rangers observation.

He spotlighted center Noah Laba before I got to talking about the attractive prospect. And at 6-2, 191 pounds, the kid from Northville, Michigan is the surprise rookie hit of training camp.

Pal McCaffrey's angle is that Noah is arching hard for the varsity and he's battling one-on-one with Gabe Perreault which is fascinating in its own right.

Perreault has led The Hockey News' "Future Watch" for two straight years. Now get this: Laba didn't even make this year's top ten. (By the way, my other wise pal, Jess Rubenstein has been

talking up Laba before anyone knew that his name was Abal backwards.)

My point is that if Laba at center is so good and almost everybody loves right wing Perreault, then logic dictates that both should make the big club.

As for the Rangers pre-season won-lost record – in terms of the upcoming season – it simply doesn't matter. NOT TO WORRY!

Remembering the Blueshirts Broadcasters The <a href="https://thehockeynews.com/nhl/new-york-rangers">Rangers</a> Centennial Season Theme Nights, which begin on October 20 (vs.Minnesota), will be an all-inclusive tribute to just about everything and everyone of note connected to the franchise.

Time and again, teams that do well in the pre-season often do a floperoo when it counts. And the vice is versa.

What really matters is the injury factor. A minor Rangers concern is captain J.T. Miller who missed last night's 3-1 loss to New Jersey at the Garden. All signs are for a relatively short absence; nothing like the problems facing the Cup champion Panthers.

Captain Alexsander Barkov is gone for the season and super-leader Matthew Tkachuk will be Absent With Leave until mid-season.

By comparison, Miller's sabbatical is small potatoes in the big watermelon NHL season!