PHILADELPHIA — Darroll Powe, who last season became only the 11th forward in the last 25 NHL seasons to fail to reᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚcord a point while playing at least 40ཧ games, seemed on the verge of Rangers extinction after clearing waivers in late June.
But the projected early-season ab♉sences of Ryan Callahan and Carl Hagelin as both complete rehab following postseason shoulder surgeries have created an opportunity for Powe to stick, and he’s do✃ing his best to take advantage.
“If anything, going through waivers just gave me incentive to work harder 💛over the summer to be in a position in camp to show them what I can do,” said Powe, who scored from in front on a deflection in the Rangers’ 3-2 victory over the Flyer𝄹s on Tuesday night. “I’m not going to be preoccupied with things I have no control over.”
Powe, who was strong on the puck throughout while effective on the forecheck, played center both here and agღainst the Devils in Newark on Monday൩ night.
The Blueshirts appear to be reasonably well fortified down the middle with Brad Richards, Derick Brassard, Brian Boyle and Dominic Moore under contract, even as Derek Stepan remains ꦍunsigned, but Powe could earn a spot on the wing.
“Obviously it’s a competitive camp, but the talk is of a clean slate, grab it, and tha🏅t’s what I’m going to try to do,” said Powe, who played 34 games with the Blueshirts last year after being acquired from the Wild, with whom he played eight matches.
“I’m just going to🍬 do the best I can and sh𒀰ow them what I can do,”
said Powe, who teamed wi🐽th Moore on an effective penalty-kill unit.
“Then they’ll have a decision to make.”
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Brassard and Benoit Pouliot each scored a goal whi🅘le combining with Mats Zuccarello to form an impressive line that featured speꦍed, finesse and puck movement.
“I told [Pouliot] when we were skating around the ice this morning that I like the way he ♎has used his speed and size in camp, going to the net and making plays,” coach Alain Vigneault said. “I want him to do that.
“[He] and Brass seem to have a little bit o🍌f a connection, a little bit of chemistry. Hopefully we’ll see that. W🐽e’re trying to get some chemistry, whether it’s duos or lines.”
Pouliot, whom the Rangers signed as a free agent after the Lightning did not qualify him, said he called for the puck from Brassard in French for his winning goal from in front at 5:30. The winger said he and Brassard are attempting to get the Norwegian-born Zuccarello to spea💫k French, too.
Zuccarello set up Brassard’s second-period goal from the slot with a n💫ifty cen♎tering feed from behind the net.
“He’s really shifty; he sees the ice so well,” Brassard said of Zuccarello. “The three of us played pretty well together in the i♌ntra-squad game and in practice, so I couldn’t wait for a game to see what we couꦛld do.”
Dylan McIlrath had a particularly difficult night on defense. … There is no progress whatsoever toward resolving the negotiating impasse between the Rangers and Stepan, with a pair of sources indicating the parties’ positions have hardened. … J.T. M🌱iller, who had been kept off the ice for three days because of a hams𒈔tring issue, skated Tuesday morning.