The Rangers return to action after two days off with a home game against the Bruins. Both teams are a bit banged up, with Boston missing goalies Tuukka Rask (undisclosed) and Anton Khudobin (upper body) as well as likely David Backes (undisclosed). New York will be without Chris Kreider (nedk but possibly concussion) and Pavel Buchnevich (back spasms, IR).

The late scratch of Kreider coupled with unexpected return of Oscar Lindberg resulted in a shuffling of the lines Sunday to the below:

Miller-Zibanejad-Zuccarello
Vesey-Stepan-Nash
Grabner-Hayes-Fast
Pirri-Lindberg-Jooris

It's not the ideal mix but with at least one and maybe a pair of top-six, or at worst top-nine, wingers sidelined, I can understand the change. Keeping Fast and Grabner together maintains some continuity, since they play some on the penalty kill together, same with Pirri and Jooris. Personally, I would prefer Pirri on the third line and could see him on the top line with Miller down on the third line. But Miller rewarded AV's decision by scoring Sunday. If there is some criticism leveled against AV here, please explain to me because what else should he had done?

The return of Dan Girardi, who tallied the game-winner, resulted in the below pairings Sunday:

McD-Holden
Staal-Klein
Skjei-Girardi

AV likely will move G back to to play with McD but Holden has been more than solid there and no chance will make while New York is winning. I caught up on some blogs and columns after the holiday and saw that the G bashing was in full effect. This topic is highly polarizing. No matter what I or anyone else says, if you believe that G is the the scourge of the earth defensively or on the flip side has been overly criticized, it's not going to be swayed by what you read or hear. There is no question G has regressed the past few years and quite possibly didn't deserve the deal he received. We have hashed and rehashed that argument to death. Since no buyout is occurring now, focus on his play at this moment and what can occur moving forward. I would let him play with Skjei, allowing Brady to be the puck moving d-man with the freedom to rush, as he did on the play he made on the game-winning goal with G hanging back to cover defensively. If G can do that, then this pairing could work allowing the other duos to stay together.

Lundqvist will be between the pipes for the fourth straight game and sixth out of seven contests. Right now, AV's talk of playing Hank 55-58 games looks like lip service once again. Maybe Antti Raanta plays against Carolina on Friday, as I doubt he faces Tampa on Sunday, though he could play the Blues on Tuesday. But it wouldn't shock me to see Lundqvist in net over the next three games.

With Rask and Khudobin out, Malcolm Subban made his season debut for the Bruins (3-3-0) and first NHL start since Feb. 20, 2015. He was pulled at 10:36 of the second period after allowing three goals on 16 shots. Zane McIntyre made his NHL debut in relief and made 15 saves. McIntyre could make his first ever start tonight against the Rangers. Boston is still a dangerous team, even if Backes doesn't suit up, as we have seen the past several years when they face the Rangers.

Permit me a minor rant. After the holiday, I saw the news that Rick Carpinello had been let go by Gannett. Carp had been with company for 40 years and was best Rangers' beat writer around. Following the purchase of NJ Media, the paper moved Andrew Gross full time to Devils because Carp's coverage for Lohud would include Gross' blog since it was all part of Gannett. Now they let him go. I think we all agree that Carp's recaps were the best on the web. In addition, he had time for everyone, fan, blogger, beat writer etc. Carp was gracious enough to answer my tweets and emails, making time for someone he didn't know to provide guidance and advice. What's happening in the media industry is crazy, especially when a company like Gannett is buying the Tribune for $2 billion yet they get rid of quality writers to go with the amalgamation route for news. We saw this happen in Tampa last year, so it shouldn't be a surprise. But as someone with a close relative in a prominent role for a newspaper, the direction the industry is going on is scary with individuals tossed aside like chattel. Hopefully a website or another media source is smart and snaps up Carp immediately.

Join the Discussion: » 399 Comments » Post New Comment

» Rangers look to take 3-0 series lead tonight in Washington

» Game 2: Rangers hold on for 4-3 win and 2-0 series lead

» Game 1: Rangers hold serve at home 4-1 over Caps behind the fourth line

» 2024 Series Overview and Preview - Round 1 - Rangers-Capitals

» Rangers-Capitals: Reading the Numbers, Looking for an Advantage