Coming off of three straight wins and four in five, the Rangers get a nice boost to their lineup Monday against the Ducks with the return of Captain Cally. Callahan, who broke his left thumb on October 16 and was expected to miss 3-4 weeks, is back a few days early as original projections had him coming back either Wednesday against Pittsburgh, Thursday against Columbus or Sunday against Florida.
The surprising move is that JT Miller will be scratched, leaving Brandon Mashinter and Taylor Pyatt in the lineup. Mashinter may remain in the lineup tonight because the Rangers are facing a big Anahim squad, but I am surprised that Miller came out and not one of the two mentioned. The fun part now comes in how the lineup is configured, which we discussed a bit yesterday but will get into a bit more.
My projected lineup:
Hagelin-Richards-Pouliot Kreider-Stepan-Zucc Pyatt-Brassard-Callahan Mashinter Boyle-Dorsett
I would not break up the top-six given how hot they have been. Originally, I had Callahan with Miller and Brassard, but with Miller out, Callahan slides into his spot, though I would have sat one of the two mentioned above and had the other slide onto the fourth. Pyatt can play the PK with Dominic Moore out, but I expect Callahan to slide back into that role, so I am unsure the benefit of having him in the lineup over Miller, save for size as well. This could change Wednesday against the Penguins, where skill over size will be needed.
More to come later...