Tonight, the Rangers (1-2) look to get back on track and score some goals as they take on the Washington Capitals (3-0) at Madison Square Garden.
What used to be a somewhat easy team when it came to scoring goals against, the Capitals have improved their defense and have gotten splendid play from goaltenders Olaf Kolzig and Brent Johnson, factors that enabled the Caps to get off to such a good start.
The Rangers, on the other hand, have played well defensively and have had solid performances from goaltender Henrik Lundqvist but have had lots of trouble putting the puck in the net (six goals in three games).
After exploding for five goals in the season opener, Ranger sticks have gone quiet. However, in the two losses, the Rangers took a combined 72 shots but ran into some goaltending against Martin Gerber of the Ottawa Senators (5-1) and Rick DiPietro of the New York Islanders (3-2), so it's not like the team is getting chances to put the puck in the net.
It will be interesting to see how head coach Tom Renney puts his lines together tonight but one would have to imagine that he will keep them pretty close to the way they were in their 2-1 loss to the Islanders on Wednesday night:
Hossa-Drury-Jagr
Straka-Gomez-Shanahan
Callahan-Betts-Prucha
Orr-Dubinsky-Hollweg
In my opinion, I think Renney should at least flirt with the idea of switching Drury and Gomez. Drury and Jagr have looked a bit out of synch while playing on the same line so may be this is the time to experiment to get the offensive juices flowing.
As for the defense, it will be interesting to see if Paul Mara will be out of the lineup once again, which would make it three straight games in which the team has sat its highest paid defenseman.
In other Ranger musings, the team acquired right winger Pierre Parenteau from the Chicago Blackhawks in exchange for a conditional 2008 seventh round draft pick. Parenteau, who will play with the Hartford Wolf Pack this season, had a decent year in the AHL last season with Portland and Norfolk, tallying 79 points (30 goals, 49 assists) in 68 games.
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