The New York Rangers resume gameplay Sunday at Madison Square Garden against the Edmonton Oilers. After five days off, hopefully used to reset mentally and physically, New York is back in action. The Blueshirts headed into their mini-break slumping, with three straight losses and five of their last six contests, which has sent them plummeting down the standings.
Rangers lines and D pairs at Friday’s practice (no Eeli Tolvanen, but I have added him below)
Dorofeyev-Zibanejad-Lafrenière
Kartye-Miller-Bjorkstrand
Cuylle-Laba-Perreault
Raddysh-Glendening-Tolvanen
Gavrikov-Fox
Pettersson-Durzi
Šmits-Schneider
What’s noticeable above is the line change on the first and third lines. Pavel Dorofeyev was swapped with Gabe Perreault in an attempt to get the $77 million man going. Dorofeyev is a sniper, though not a playmaker, and he needs a center or winger who creates opportunities for him. When he was signed, we knew this was the case, but we had hoped his scoring ability would supersede his flaws.
Less than a quarter of the way into the season—his first of what is supposed to be seven with the Rangers—the barbarians are already at the gate for Dorofeyev, wanting to move on from him. Associated with this view is questioning why the team moved on from Artemi Panarin. The team needed to make that move to reset the leadership and style of play on the ice. Dorofeyev is here to stay, at least for now, so the goal is to find a way to unlock his game.
Perreault has hit a bit of a wall after a hot start. He’s posted just one point in his last six games while his overall play has fallen off. Eventually, he and Oliver Bjorkstrand will switch spots, as that makes the most sense given the players and roster needs. The top six needs to start producing and carry the offense.
How good would Adam Edstrom look in this lineup? Edstrom would center the fourth line and provide flexibility to move Noah Laba down a trio. Laba has been fine on the third unit, but he and Edstrom would have been a nice duo. That opportunity was lost because coach Mike Sullivan was not a fan of Edstrom, and management stupidly gave up on him.
The Rangers blueline is in flux today and has been lately. The top pairing of Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox has been stellar, as expected. Then the questions begin. Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson were supposed to stabilize the second duo, but that hasn’t happened. Alberts Šmits-Braden Schneider have struggled as a third pairing.
Monday, Sullivan split up the bottom two defensive pairs to try and find combinations that work. Today, who plays is up in the air. Durzi missed practice again Saturday and is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury. Schneider also did not practice. He is sick and day-to-day. If either sits, Scott Morrow, who has been gathering splinters in the press box and has yet to dress, will finally get in. If both sit, Matthew Robertson, sent back down to Hartford yesterday, could be a last-minute call-up to dress. Even if everyone were healthy, my view is that Smits or Schneider should sit a game or two to watch from the press box based on performance. But that looks like it won’t ever be the case.
Home › Forums › Rangers Take On McDavid’s Oilers
Tagged: New York Rangers, nhl