Rangers’ Adam Edstrom benched for what he calls ‘up and down’ play

DENVER — Adam Edstrom was a healthy scratch for the first time this season Tuesday night in Las Vegas, a decision Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan said was partly based on performance.

Asked how he’d evaluate his start to the 2025-26 campaign, the 6-foot-7 Swede was frank.

“Up and down, I know I can produce better hockey than I’ve done so far,” he said Wednesday afternoon after participating in the optional practice at Ball Arena. “First period of time that I sat out, I had some smaller stuff that I was dealing with, and I thought that kind of affected my game a little bit. But, overall, I just feel like I gotta be better when I’m out there.”

Tuesday marked the third game Edstrom has missed this season, after he was sidelined with “bumps and bruises” in the back-to-back slate against the Red Wings and Islanders earlier this month.

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Edstrom opened the season on the left wing of Sam Carrick and Matt Rempe, who has been out the past 12 games with an upper-body injury. The fourth line has not been nearly as effective since then, with Edstrom struggling to put forth consistent performances.

“The simple stuff,” Edstrom said when asked what the coaching staff has asked him to focus on. “Like, take care of the puck a bit more. Play a little more heavy, get into those dirty areas of the ice. Just, overall, stuff we need to do as a team as well.

Adam Edstrom, who was benched in the Rangers’ loss to the Golden Knights, warms up before the Nov. 18, 2025 game. Getty Images

“I feel like I could take a lot more pride in kind of being one of those players that leads with example and that’s what I’m looking forward to doing.”

Having played a majority of his games alongside Carrick, Edstrom has been on the ice for four Rangers goals and four against in 150:57 of five-on-five ice time with the veteran center, per Natural Stat Trick.

Sullivan noted that the Rangers wanted a different look to the fourth line against the Golden Knights, which brought Juuso Parssinen in and edged Edstrom out of the lineup.

“Just keep my head up,” he said of his mentality. “I’m going out there working hard every day, practicing, trying to improve my skills. It’s a long season, 82 games is a lot of games. If I miss a couple now, in the long run, I think it’ll be good for me and kind of work on my craft a little bit.”

There is no update on Rempe’s timeline to return to the lineup, according to Sullivan.

“He’s on a rehab schedule right now where he’s three days on, one day off,” Sullivan said. “He is on the ice and he’s skating.”

Rempe, who suffered an upper-body injury in his fight against the Sharks’ Ryan Reaves earlier this season, has missed 12 straight games and is currently on long-term injured reserve.