The Rangers complete their three-game homestand tonight against the Penguins with mixed emotion. On the one hand, they are going for their third win a row, fourth in five games and attempting to get revenge for the beat down Pittsburgh gave them on January 19 at MSG. On the other, this will be the first of what is expected to be six contests without their captain Ryan Callahan, who is out 10-to-14 days following a partial subluxation of his left shoulder in a fight with former Penguin, Max Talbot.
It's not as it Pittsburgh comes in on a high, as they are nursing a 4-1 loss against the Islanders and have struggled this season. John Torperzer in his
blog today spells out a few of the reasons for Pittsburgh's struggles, which includes no life or energy, the lack of puck movement, coaching and the bottom part of their defensive crew. Whatever the causes of their difficulties, Pittsburgh enters the game 3-3 just like the Rangers. The one benefit, if one could view it that way, of their recent woes is that by virtue of having one less regulation win than the Rangers, the Penguins, despite having the same record as NY, were able to claim Zack Boychuk off waivers and may use him on a line with Evgeni Malkin. With Callahan and Chris Kreider (ankle) out, the Rangers are really short-handed up front, so Boychuk might have made a nice addition.
In line with that thought, there is some buzz that JT Miller may be called up this year. In my view, and have discussed this before, it better be later rather than sooner as no reason to rush him. I could see slotting him on the third line to generate some offense as the bottom six, in general and as you will see below, have left a lot to be desired. However, unless another injury hits now or the team goes on a major losing streak, I would wait several weeks before making that move, allowing him to hopefully enjoy some sustained success at Hartford and then promote him. Kreider skated hard today and how he reacts overnight will be a good indication of just how close he might be to returning to action, as an AHL stint seems to be remote now with Cally out.
Lines with Callahan and Kreider out:
Marian Gaborik-Brad Richards-Rick Nash
Carl Hagelin-Derek Stepan-Taylor Pyatt
Mike Rupp-Brian Boyle-Benn Ferriero
Aaron Asham-Jeff Halpern-Stu Bickel
(you know my view on this and still think the GNR line will get split up. Bickel gets back in at forward while Hagelin and Rupp each move up a line)
Dan Girardi-Ryan McDonagh
Michael Del Zotto-Marc Staal
Matt Gilroy-Anton Stralman
(Gilroy gets his first action of the year, does he break three minutes of ice time? The Rangers desperately need a sixth defenseman and this a major void left by Michael Sauer's injury. I don't think Dylan McIlrath is ready and calling him to play minimal minutes won't help his growth. When Callahan and Kreider are back, this is where I see Sather focusing on upgrading by the trade deadline, in addition to a third line forward that can score a bit)
Pittsburgh projected lines per Topper and from yesterday as Kunitz not on the ice this AM:
Chris Kunitz-Sidney Crosby-Pascal Dupuis
Dustin Jeffrey-Evgeni Malkin-James Neal
Tanner Glass-Brandon Sutter-Matt Cooke
Tyler Kennedy-Joe Vitale-Craig Adams
(Eric Tangradi)
Dustin Jeffrey gets his 10-15:00 TOI minutes of fame with Malkin and Neal.
Some stats from Topper:
-- Henrik Lundqvist is 3-1 with a 1.51 GAA and .925 save percentage since getting pulled against the Penguins.
-- Sidney Crosby holds a 14-game point streak against the Rangers which includes 10 goals and 27 points. He lost 15 of 21 draws in the first meeting.
-- Tomas Vokoun stopped 31 of 34 shots against New York in the Pens’ 6-3 win, earning his first “W” in a Penguins’ sweater. He'll start Thursday after replacing Marc-Andre Fleury, who also has struggled mightily this year, against the Isles.
-- Evgeni Malkin went 2-8 on faceoffs against NYR, but scored half of his season’s point total – three assists – in the first game.
-- James Neal netted two goals.
-- The Pens’ power-play is 1-for-14 since scoring two goals in four attempts against the Rangers.
The Rangers head to Tampa to take on the Lightning on Saturday.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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