There’s a lot of little bits and pieces of news here and there in the Rangers world. First, there are some Swedish reports saying that Mats Zuccarello fractured his hand while playing in the CT Whale’s playoff game last night (stick-tap to Nick Montemagno of Rangers Tribune for breaking this). Zuccarello will miss the remainder of the season with the injury. I asked Brian Ring (covers the CT Whale) about the injury, and while he could not directly answer, he did say that he did not expect Zuccarello to return this season.
Second, at practice today, Andrew Gross is reporting that the Rangers have new lines (again) heading into Game 5. Vinny Prospal is dropped to the fourth line, and Wojtek Wolski has been moved up to the third line:
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Sean Avery-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Wojtek Wolski-Artem Anisimov-Derek Stepan
Vinny Prospal-Erik Christensen-Chris Drury
Finally, Henrik Lundqvist was not named as a finalist for the Vezina trophy this season. Lundqvist had another great year –which seems to be the norm for him– posting a 36-27-5 record with a 2.28 GAA and a .920 SV%. Lundqvist also led the league in with 1 1 shutouts. The three finalists are (likely winner) Tim Thomas of Boston, Pekka Rinne of Nashville, and Roberto Luongo of Vancouver. Thomas’ numbers dictate that he will win the award, despite his mediocre second half of the season, as he posted a 35-11-9 record with a 2.00 GAA, a .938 SV%, and 9 shutouts. Rinne had a stellar year as well, posting a 33-22-9 record, with a 2.12 GAA, a .930 SV%, and 6 shutouts. Luongo had a great year with the President’s Trophy winning Canucks, posting a 38-15-7 record, with a 2.11 GAA and a .928 SV%. Luongo only had 4 shutouts.
It’s a bit surprising to see that Lundqvist isn’t a finalist for the Vezina, but all three goalies who finished ahead of him had better numbers. Voters are very number happy, and numbers means awards. Unfortunately for Lundqvist, his consistency kills him, as the Vezina doesn’t award consistency, just single season dominance. I would expect the voting to have Thomas winning, with Rinne finishing second and Luongo finishing third.
As per Andrew Gross, John Tortorella is going to roll with the same lineup tomorrow, meaning Sean Avery and Matt Gilroy are going to stay while Mats Zuccarello and Steve Eminger will be the healthy scratches. This isn’t surprising, as Gilroy has played fairly well, and Avery adds much needed grit to the lineup. People will point to the four offsides committed by Avery as a reason he should sit, but that’s a part of the game. It happens.
Tortorella isn’t sure of what the lines and powerplay units will be, and I’ll assume he will shed more light on that tomorrow. Whatever he does, it better work or this is going to be a short series.
As per Andrew Gross, John Tortorella switched up his first and fourth lines, swapping Artem Anisimov and Erik Christensen. Anisimov is now centering the fourth line between Chris Drury and Sean Avery/Mats Zuccarello, and Christensen is centering the first line with Vinny Prospal and Marian Gaborik. When asked about the switch, Torts was very candid, saying that he is not putting Christensen on the first line for his defensive prowess, and that they a unit that will need to generate offense.
The move isn’t unexpected –my feelings about Christensen as a first liner aside– and this line has shown that they can generate offense. The Rangers were simply shut down on Wednesday, and they need to find a way to both break through the Caps defense, and match their physicality. Hopefully this new lineup will generate more offense from the primary scorers.
The other two lines remained intact. The lines we are looking at for tonight’s game:
Vinny Prospal-Erik Christensen-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Derek Stepan-Ruslan Fedotenko
Wojtek Wolski-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Chris Drury-Artem Anisimov-Sean Avery/Mats Zuccarello
As per Andrew Gross, Rangers captain Chris Drury will return to the lineup for the first time since having knee surgery on February 4th, a surgery that was expected to keep him out for the remainder of the season. Drury will take Sean Avery’s spot, who probably lost his spot when he failed to clear the zone in the second period Thursday night, resulting in the first Atlanta goal.
Also in today are Mats Zuccarello, who was recalled yesterday, and Matt Gilroy. Per Gross, Gilroy is in today because he presents more of an offensive threat than Eminger, and can move the puck out of the zone quicker.
The New York Rangers have decided that Wojtek Wolski’s injured ribs have not healed sufficiently over the past three days for him to play tomorrow against the Kings. The discussion seems to center around Wolski wanting to go but being unsure of how long he would last and Andrew Gross passes along that coach John Tortorella did not want to start the game with him and end up short a forward early on. This is similar to how they handled the Dan Girardi rib issue right before the All-Star break and it is a smart move to play it cautious right now and not make into a bigger or longer term injury issue.
With Wolski out of the lineup, the team has recalled Kris Newbury from the Connecticut Whale and he will be in the lineup tomorrow. There is no word yet on where Newbury will play, but he is capable of playing either center or left wing.
Also per Andrew Gross, Mats Zuccarello will take Wolski’s point position on the power play unit. After looking shaky there earlier in the year, coach John Tortorella has liked what he has seen from Zuccarello on the point during recent practices. The fact that the Rangers have Zuccarello and Stepan on the points on the power play only underscores their need for a natural power play quarterback.
On the defensive side, according to Steve Zipay, and to the surprise of no one, Michael Del Zotto will be back in and Steve Eminger will be out. I say that there is no surprise because Eminger only got 4:08 of playing time against the Penguins, so Del Zotto being moved back into the lineup has as much to do with displeasure towards Eminger as a vote of confidence in Michael, in my opinion. The reality is none of the final three guys in the defensive rotation are playing well right now and I would not be surprised to see either a trade happen or Matt Gilroy also get sat down in the near future.
As per Andrew Gross, Martin Biron was the first goalie off the ice during today’s morning skate, and will likely be the starter tonight in Detroit. This shouldn’t be a surprise, as the backup has played very well this entire year, and is coming off a great start in a loss to the Montreal Canadiens. This is indeed the right move for the Rangers, as they need the points in the standings and should be riding the hot goalie for now.
Some may read into this as a “goalie controversy”, but it is exactly the opposite. It is very clear that Lundqvist is struggling, and hasn’t been himself lately. With the Rangers not playing again until Friday, a day off today gives The King a full week off to work on what has been ailing him in net. The purpose of a reliable backup like Biron is to not only give Lundqvist some rest, but to provide stable goaltending in the event that Lundqvist hits a cold streak. This is The King’s cold streak for the season, and should not be looked into any further. I would bet anything that Lundqvist gets the start Friday.
In other lineup news, the lines from Saturday will remain the same (listed below).
Vinny Prospal-Erik Christensen-Marian Gaborik
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov-Ryan Callahan
Wojtek Wolski-Derek Stepan-Mats Zuccarello
Sean Avery-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Steve Eminger will also be the healthy scratch, with Michael Del Zotto staying in the lineup. This has been an area of contention amongst Ranger fans, but I have to admit, everyone clamored for the youth movement. This is the youth movement, it’s not all roses and pixie-dust (yes, that’s a shot at the trade-MDZ-for-Arnott people).
As per Andrew Gross, Michal Rozsival will be out tonight with his bruised ribs. Rookie Ryan McDonagh, acquired in the Scott Gomez trade, will be making his NHL debut tonight against the Stars, and will likely be paired with Matt Gilroy. McDonagh was called up when Michael Del Zotto was sent to CT, but was a healthy scratch on Wednesday, as the Rangers evaluated what they had in the youngster.
As per Andrew Gross, the Rangers have called up Mats Zuccarello-Aasen for tomorrow night’s game against the Islanders. MZA played well in the shootout loss to Tampa Bay, and was sent down afterwards to play in Hartford’s games over the weekend. It was expected that he would be called up again. It is surprising to see that he was called up even though Marian Gaborik will be in the lineup tomorrow. Also, Michael Del Zotto, who missed Thursday’s game with the flu, is healthy but will not be in the lineup. According to Gross, coach John Tortorella liked what he saw from Matt Gilroy, and would like to seem him play one more game.
Also as per Gross, the Rangers had new lines at practice today:
Brandon Dubinsky-Derek Stepan-Marian Gaborik
Alex Frolov-Artem Anisimov-Chris Drury
Ruslan Fedotenko-Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust
Sean Avery-Erik Christensen-Todd White
With MZA called up, these lines will likely change. The logical assumption is that White will be scratched. If that’s the case, we might see a line of Avery-Drury-Christensen that we have seen before this season, with MZA sliding into the second line RW spot. Nothing is confirmed yet.
Thanks to Joe Fortunato for breaking this one, via the AHL transaction log. Mats Zuccarello-Aasen has been called up by the Rangers for tomorrow’s game against the Tampa Bay Lightning. MZA has been on fire lately in Connecticut, which makes up for his very slow start. His line this year, which can be found on the right, is 30 GP, 13G, 10A, +4, and 90 SOG. That’s almost a point per game, so it looks like MZA has gotten himself fairly adjusted to the North American style of play.
Also, as per Jesse Spector, Marian Gaborik may be more seriously injured than initially thought:
MDZ out for #NYR, but MZA up: Mats Zuccarello recalled from Connecticut. Wonder if that’s a sign of how serious Gaborik’s groin issue is.
Gaborik initially hurt his groin during the Olympics last year, and was never the same player for the remainder of the season. He also separated his shoulder in the Rangers third game this season after a hit by Colby Armstrong. The shoulder issue aside as a fluke, the groin issue is a major concern. He had a lot of groin injuries in Minnesota, and although they appeared to be healed last season, they are coming back with a vengeance now.
From Spector’s tweet, it looks like Michael Del Zotto will be a healthy scratch for tomorrow’s game against Tampa Bay.
As per Larry Brooks, there will be no roster moves made by the Rangers prior to tonight’s game. This doesn’t come as a surprise, as the Rangers played very well in Ryan Callahan’s absence last night. Some might have expected Mats Zuccarello-Aasen to be called up because of his recent strong play, but for now letting him ride out that hot streak seems like the best move for the long term. Todd White will be re-inserted back into the lineup tonight. My best guess would be the Rangers will make a decision on who to call up, if they make a move, after the Flyers game on Saturday. Just a warning, it may not be who you expect/want.
As for lines, my best guess would have Chris Drury moving up to take Callahan’s spot, and having a fourth line of Sean Avery-Erik Christensen-Todd White, with Avery getting more ice time of the three.
