Unless you have been living under a rock for the past week, you know that Carl Hagelin was suspended (questionably) for 3 games for elbowing Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson in the head during game 2 of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. Due to this turn of events, the Rangers have lost a key cog in their top line, and one of their biggest speed/forechecking threats.
Chris Kreider was inserted into the lineup in Hagelin’s place for game 3 and acquitted himself well for a pro debut in the middle of a playoff series. By the third period, however, Torts felt that Kreider wasn’t ready to be that guy for the top line and inserted Derek Stepan. The question remains going into Game 4 on Wednesday, who is the right guy to take Hagelin’s spot on the top unit?
Let’s take a look at some possibilities…
- Ryan Callahan- Captain Cally does just about everything for the Rangers, so why not install him on the top line? He could be a huge boon to the forecheck and allow for Richards and Gabby a little more room to operate down low. He also has an unfailing nose for the net, and if those two can generate shots on goal, Cally is a good bet to bang in some rebounds.
- Brandon Dubinsky- Last season’s leading scorer, Dubi would seem to possess the skill set to complement the top line nicely. He has a decent set of hands and can bring some jam to a finesse unit. However, he has had trouble finding the back of the net this season, and has often looked lost between passing and shooting. But, who knows, maybe playing with talent like Gaborik and Richards is just the thing to light the fire under Dubi’s offensive game. Read more »
Per Andrew Gross, the Rangers have some good news in the injury department. Artem Anisimov was skating this morning at the optional skate. Although he is unlikely to play tonight, it’s a good sign to see him skating, it means his shoulder injury isn’t serious.
Along with Anisimov, Gross states that John Scott (unsurprisingly), Anton Stralman, and Jeff Woywitka will be the other scratches. Steve Eminger wasn’t on the ice for the Rangers, and Gross has said that he is unlikely to play.
The lines and pairings are what you would expect them to be:
Hagelin-Richards-Gaborik
Dubinsky-Stepan-Callahan
Zuccarello-Boyle-Mitchell
Rupp-Fedotenko-Prust
McDonagh-Girardi
Staal-Del Zotto
Bickel-Erixon
In other good news, all the Rangers need is one point to clinch the playoffs. Sure, the division race is closer than we had hoped, but clinching a playoff spot this early is a step in the right direction.
The AHL Transaction Log does not have any call ups listed for the Rangers this morning, thus it is expected that Stu Bickel will again play forward on the fourth line with Mike Rupp and John Mitchell. Bickel played fairly well as a forward in yesterday’s 5-2 stomping of the Flyers. With Ruslan Fedotenko out indefinitely, Bickel has been a good short term solution. However, don’t expect him to play forward forever.
Update 10:45am: Eminger will not be playing tonight. The Rangers have decided to keep Stu Bickel in the lineup.
Original Post: In some good injury news, Steve Eminger has been activated off injured reserve and is likely to play today, according to Katie Strang. Eminger has been out since December 17 against Phoenix, when he separated his shoulder. Prior to the injury, Eminger had been playing top-four minutes while paired with Michael Del Zotto.
Eminger will likely play at the expense of rookie Stu Bickel, who was limited to just ten shifts and six minutes of ice time in the Rangers 1-0 win over the Sabres.
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.
