As speculated by myself yesterday and debated between myself and Chris today, defenseman Marc Staal will return to the lineup today for the Winter Classic. He will play on the third pairing with Stu Bickel. No word on who will sit, but my hunch is either Ryan McDonagh (flu) or Jeff Woywitka (healthy).
This is big news for the Rangers, who have been without Staal the entire season. Staal will see limited minutes, but it is great to see him back.
The post-holiday roster freeze lineup changes for the Rangers have begun. Pat Leonard of the NY Daily News (who took over for Jesse Spector) tweets that Jeff Woywitka will be returning to the lineup tonight in place of rookie Tim Erixon. Woywitka was out for a few games after blocking a shot with his foot in Phoenix. It is likely that Tim Erixon, who was at the morning skate, will be returned to the Connecticut Whale following the optional skate (Update: Torts said, per Leonard, that Erixon will be with the team for a while longer because the team is on the road).
Another Update: Andrew Gross says that as long as Woywitka and Stu Bickel survive the Washington game tonight, Erixon will be returned to Connecticut.
Also, Martin Biron will get the start in net tonight (also per Leonard). This means that Henrik Lundqvist will get the Florida game before the Winter Classic.
Per Andrew Gross, the lines at practice were as follows:
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko-Mike Rupp-Brandon Prust
Carl Hagelin-Brian Boyle-John Mitchell
Also per Gross, the “spare” forwards of Wojtek Wolski, Erik Christensen, and Sean Avery were skating together as a fifth line. It’s kind of ironic when you think about it, as that is actually a line the Rnagers have used in the past.
As expected, Stu Bickel skated today, wearing number 41. Also as noted before, Jeff Woywitka ended practice early, as he is still banged up. Tim Erixon has been recalled on an emergency basis.
As per Andrew Gross, the Rangers are going with the old adage of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and have decided to go with the same lineup tonight as they did against Florida. This means that Henrik Lundqvist will get the start. This also means that Sean Avery will be a healthy scratch tonight, and Erik Christensen will dress in his place. It is unlikely that Christensen will get the same 12:54 in ice time that he received on Sunday night, as this game with Dallas will likely be significantly closer, thus limiting extra shifts for the fourth line. If I were a betting man, I’d bet that as long as this game remains close, Christensen will get about 10 minutes of ice time this game.
The lines will be the same as well:
Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Carl Hagelin-Brian Boyle-John Mitchell
Brandon Dubinsky-Erik Christensen-Brandon Prust
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Michael Del Zotto-Steve Eminger
Jeff Woywitka-Anton Stralman
There’s going to be the obligatory “WHY ISN’T AVERY PLAYING?!?!?!?!” tweets/comments/rants across the interwebs, but for those with sane minds and a rational thought process, there should be no surprise or anger over leaving the lineup the same after a 6-1 demolishing of the Panthers.
Following the New York Rangers dominating 5-2 win over the San Jose Sharks on Monday night, a game in which every player on the roster had a strong game, the focus shifted to the newly recalled Sean Avery, and where he would fit in the lineup after such a strong showing. The likely candidates to sit were the usual ones: Wojtek Wolski and Erik Christensen, both of whom have been in the chateau-bow-wow this year.
The answer came in the form of tweets from practice by the beat writers: Avery was in a fourth line rotation with Andre Deveaux, another recent call up from the CT Whale. Deveaux had a very strong game on Monday, and did things that many expected Mike Rupp to do before he went down with his knee injury. It’s unlikely that Deveaux will sit after having a strong game. It is probably best for Avery, who is aware that this may be his last shot at sticking with the NHL, to bide his time and wait for Christensen or Wolski to mess up. One will. And when they do, it will be the Sean Avery show.
The question remains though: Is it going to be the 2007 Sean Avery or the 2010 Sean Avery?
After the New York Rangers demoralizing loss last night, coach John Tortorella juggled the lines again in practice, and the final product looked like this:
Wojtek Wolski-Erik Christensen-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Derek Stepan-Artem Anisimov-Kris Newbury
These will sure to rile up some people, especially the Christensen haters. It is a bit curious to see Christensen and Wolski, who have notably been in Torts’ dog house many times over the past few seasons, on a line with Gaborik. The other thing that might disturb people is that Stepan and Anisimov appear to be on the fourth line. I say “appear” here because we know they will get more than fourth line minutes.
While many will read into these combos with disdain, let’s try and look at the big picture. There are three players on this roster that simply would not be on any competing team’s roster. There is a reason why players like Christensen bounce around the waiver wire, why the Wolski’s of the world get traded twice before turning 26, and why fringe players like Newbury go unclaimed on waivers. The reason is simply that they are not consistent players. Right now, they are roster fillers until the prospects with the CT Whale are ready.
Missing from these forward lines is Mike Rupp, who sat out of practice again today with a nagging injury. Also missing was Michael Del Zotto, who sat out with a hip flexor injury.
The big news from this morning is that defenseman Mike Sauer will in fact be in the lineup tonight for the New York Rangers after missing the the majority of the first seven games with a sprained shoulder. That means tha Jeff Woywitka will be the healthy scratch. In other injury news, it looks like Mike Rupp might miss tonight’s home opener with a nagging knee injury. That won’t effect the lineup too much though, if the lines below (per Katie Strang of ESPN NY) are what coach John Tortorella sticks with:
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Derek Stepan-Ryan Callahan
Wojtek Wolski-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Erik Christensen-Artem Anisimov-Mike Rupp/Kris Newbury
It looks like one of Rupp or Newbury will be the healthy scratch against the Leafs tonight, depending on Rupp’s status. The Leafs are a tough team off to a hot start, and they are always very physical against the Rangers. The assumption with leaving Christensen in the lineup in lieu of some added toughness is to provide Anisimov with some semblance of skill on his line. Either way, it will be interesting to see how Fedotenko plays with the Richards/Gaborik connection, and how long he lasts on that top line. Expect some line juggling tonight if these don’t mesh.
In some AHL news, The New York Rangers Blog has picked up on a Norwegian website claiming that Mats Zuccarello has suffered a concussion as a result of the cheap Adam Mair hit. It is unknown how long he will be out, or the validity of the article itself. So, take it for what it’s worth.
The lineup tinkering at practice continued, with Derek Stepan stepping up to the top line LW with Brad Richards and Marian Gaborik. The full lines:
Derek Stepan-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Mike Rupp-Erik Christensen-Mats Zuccarello
The defensive pairings remained the same, as Mike Sauer sat out another day of practice. Wojtek Wolski also sat out with his wonky groin. It is expected that Sauer will be back on Saturday when the Rangers “open” their North American season against the Islanders and the World’s Stickiest Coliseum. There is no timetable for Wolski’s return, or Marc Staal’s for that matter.
Looks like we didn’t have to wait long to see new lines. At practice today, the Rangers showed off new lines and pairings in preparation for their Friday matchup at The World’s Crappiest Coliseum (I don’t mean that as a slight against the Islanders, who may turn some heads this year. I mean that as a slight against the arena itself. My shoes stick to the ground while I’m there). The new lines are relatively expected, considering Wojtek Wolski may be out longer than expected with his lingering groin issue:
Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Brandon Prust-Derek Stepan-Brian Boyle
Mats Zuccarello-Erik Christensen-Mike Rupp
The first thing people will notice is that Zuccarello is on the fourth line, and with good reason. He simply has not impressed that much after a strong preseason. His game against Los Angeles was horrible, and he did not do anything to earn more ice time against Anaheim.
It is a fair assumption that when Wolski returns, he will at least get a game with Richards and Gaborik on the top line. In fact, you can pretty much shift every person down a line on the LW when Wolski returns, and it works out for the lines. Of course, that means Zuccarello would sit, which if he continues to play the way he did in the first two games, may be warranted. It will either be him or Christensen that sees the press box.
As for defense, with Mike Sauer not skating today, the pairings were changed:
Ryan McDonagh-Dan Girardi
Tim Erixon-Steve Eminger
Michael Del Zotto-Jeff Woywitka
It’s not all that intimidating, but assume the Rangers will go back to their original pairings when Sauer is back in the lineup. The depth is questionable, but with two of their top four not skating, the defense will look thin. Sauer in and Woywitka out makes a huge difference. As does Marc Staal in and Tim Erixon out. Unfortunately the latter move won’t happen for a while.
There has been a flurry of activity the past 24 hours, so let’s quickly summarize everything in one post:
Also, the forward lines for Friday appear to be set:
Brandon Dubinsky-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik
Ruslan Fedotenko-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Wojtek Wolski-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Mike Rupp-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
The defense pairings are still relatively unknown, as Erixon has not arrived in Sweden yet.
