Wanna blog? Start your own hockey blog with My HockeyBuzz. Register for free today!
 

Game 47: NYR-CAR, Subtle Tweaks to Line Combinations Forthcoming

January 31, 2015, 6:24 PM ET [84 Comments]
Jan Levine
New York Rangers Blogger • RSSArchiveCONTACT
The Rangers and Hurricanes meet at MSG on Saturday with the Blueshirts aiming to avoid their first three game losing streak since November 11-14. New York has seen their spot in the top-three in the Metro division go by the wayside while their once solid lead on a Wild Card spot in now down to six points. Carolina comes in having lost 3-2 in overtime to St. Louis on Friday but 6-2-2 in their previous 10.

Coach Alain Vigneault made one lineup move today but mentioned possible tweaks to the line combinations, both at even strength and on the power play, as well as to the defensive pairings. J.T. Miller, who sat Thursday against Montreal, gets back in today in place of Lee Stempniak and will be on the second power play. That means everyone's favorite whipping boy, Tanner Glass, remains in the lineup. Sean Hartnett wrote (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/01/30/hartnett-tanner-glass-makes-every-teammate-around-him-worse/) what everyone but AV seems to see or just ignores, that NY is worse when Glass in in the lineup, yet he once again is playing. It's become a broken record to complain about it, but since playing him drags down the team and makes little sense, get use to hearing a broken record.

For Carolina, Alexander Semin, who had been scratched for a fourth straight game yesterday, is back in the lineup and will play with Eric and Jordan Staal. Sitting for Semin with be Elias Lindholm, which is a bit surprising but a positive for the Rangers. Cam Ward will be between the pipes, giving Anton Khudobin the night off.

i would put Derek Stepan back with Rick Nash and Martin St. Louis and have Derick Brassard stay with Mats Zuccarello and add in Chris Kreider. Defensively, I would so what i proposed the other day, move Marc Staal up to play with Ryan McDonagh and have him shift to the right side. Move Dan Girardi down to play with John Moore and pair Dan Boyle with Kevin Klein.

Update: Zucc has been moved to third line with Hagelin and Hayes replaced by Miller with Brassard and Nash. The other lines remain intact, so it's Kreider-Stepan-MSL and Glass-DMoore-Fast, though you could say that's a change with Moore going back to the fourth line from third. On defense, the pairings are the same, so McDonagh-Girardi, Staal-Klein and J Moore-Boyle. The offensive tweaks are one up and one down, that's it. I get moving Zucc down but interesting that AV sits Miller and then moves him to top line when he gets back in, so why even sit him the other night? Plus, why not move others around to try and rejigger and reinvigorate the lineup? On D, Boyle down, Klein up, which makes sense and means that Moore's speed will be needed to help out Boyle defensively.
Join the Discussion: » 84 Comments » Post New Comment
More from Jan Levine
» Rangers-Capitals: Reading the Numbers, Looking for an Advantage
» Rangers-Capitals meet again, though for first time since 2015, in playoffs
» Rangers check all the boxes in 4-0 win over the Senators
» Rangers face Ottawa, win clinches division, conference & Presidents' Trophy
» Rangers rally behind Panarin/Shesterkin to defeat Islanders 3-2 in shootout