Rangers Face Lightning at MSG

The New York Rangers look to go 5-0 at home Tuesday when they face the Lightning for the second time this season. Following a change Sunday to the top-six, Coach Mike Sullivan is making one additional tweak this evening, which will be to the fourth line. Dylan Garand will be between the pipes for New York, a situation expected to be the norm for the short term.

Sunday’s “line shuffle” moved Alexis Lafreniere to the second line, swapping spots with Pavel Dorofeyev, in an attempt to get the newcomer started. Everyone “panicking” over Dorofeyev’s rough beginning needs to take it down 1 or 100 notches. Given what else the Rangers are managing, Dorofeyev’s slow start is likely the least of the concerns. He is still active on the ice, sending three shots on goal per game while adjusting to a new team and environment.

Dorofeyev is shooting just 4.8%, once that number rises toward the mean, the concern over his numbers will rightly dissipate a little. Vince Mercogliano provided an analytical view in his tweet:

The keys to the 6-2 Rangers win on Sunday were the performances of Tye Kartye and Will Cuylle. Kartye is the little engine that could, always willing to take the body and providing a boost of energy. Cuylle scored 20 goals each of the last two seasons, though he reached that number last season after a slow start. If he can be more consistent in 2026-27, 25+ goals certainly seems reachable.

Perreault-Zib-Dorofeyev
Kartye-JT-Laf
Cuylle-Laba-Tolvanen
Bjorkstrand-Beaudoin-Chmelař

Gavrikov-Fox
Pettersson-Durzi
Šmits-Schneider

Sullivan pointed to the analytics being strong for the top six the way he had them arranged for the first six games, but he noted those lines have only produced five combined goals at 5v5. He wants to see if this switch leads to better results.

I asked if he has concerns about… https://t.co/3LZnKMGf2m
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) October 10, 2026

Rangers Lineup Changes

Tuesday, Matt Rempe is replacing Jaroslav Chmelař in the lineup. Rempe has been biding his time in practice, while Chmelař may have leveled off a bit in his performance. But I am surprised a move like this happens after a win. Maybe Rempe is in case Jeffrey Viel starts something. Beyond that, not sure, even though Chmelař has not necessarily performed at a level where sitting him should be viewed as a major surprise.

Tonight will be a good test for New York and Garand against Tampa, who are 4-1-0, in town. I am not getting into the speculated, possible three-way deal involving Winnipeg and Buffalo—with UPL coming to the Rangers and Helly to the Sabres—since the deal makes little sense. The goal for tonight is to stay undefeated at MSG.