The Rangers are back at it with a pair of back to back games against the Philadelphia Flyers, both at the Garden. The Rangers are coming off a disappointing disaster of an outing against the Islanders while the Flyers are coming off a three day break. Their latest action was also against the Islanders where they lost 1-0 in overtime. Philadelphia has gone 3-4-3 in their last ten, falling five points behind the Rangers in the standings, with a game in hand. The Rangers need a bounce back win while the Flyers will look to turn things, hoping to climb back into the playoff race.
It's no secret some of the Rangers best offensive showings this season have come against the Flyers, beating them 9-0 and 8-3 in the span of a week and a day. However the last time these two dropped the puck, the Flyers came out on top with a 2-1 win. No win is guaranteed, especially at this point in the season. The Rangers need to reset themselves and come out strong in this back to back matchup. These are four very key points up for grabs and the urgency needs to be there.
Along with urgency, players need to step up their game, especially on the back end and in leadership roles with Jacob Trouba being day to day, already ruled out for tonight's game. David Quinn said after the Rangers skate yesterday that Zac Jones was a "candidate" to take Trouba's place in the line up. You have to think we will see his NHL debut tonight and you have to think Bitetto comes out for Libor Hajek. It will be interesting to see what David Quinn does with the parings as well as if there will be any other changes in the line up. Igor Sheshterkin will return to the net for his second consecutive start, his eighth start in the last ten. Aside from that, the decisions seem to be up in the air and unconfirmed until after the morning skate.
The Rangers need to change things up on the front end. I'm just as sick of beating this dead horse as all the other Rangers fans are but Blackwell on the second line has to stop. It made sense not to make any changes while we were winning but we lost a game, mix things up. Move Blackwell down to the fourth line and get Julien Gauthier back in the mix. It also may be time to temporarily dissolve the KZB line and the kids line.. Hear me out;
Lafreniere - Zibanejad - Buchnevich
Panarin - Strome - Kravtsov
Kreider - Chytil - Kakko
Blackwell - Rooney - Gauthier
Lindgren - Fox
Miller - Smith
Jones - Hajek
Vitali Kravtsov, who is on a multi game point streak has absolutely deserved a look on that second line and for more than just a period. His decisions with the puck and overall play have proven to be very good and with some games under his belt now, can really thrive on that line with Strome and Panarin. Kreider has struggled, he always does when he's not on a hot streak. Putting him on the third line relieves some of the pressure and let's be honest, will be his permanent role in a couple years when the kids are all grown up. I like the chemistry he can have with Kakko and Chytil, it brings a little more flexibility to the line up, and Lafreniere on the first line just makes sense, give him a real look there.
I've been making cases for Julien Gauthier all season long. I truly don't understand why he isn't getting ice time when his potential is so high. He hasn't seen action since April 3rd, his return to the line up is long overdue. We know what we have in Zac Jones, the kid just won a national championship, with Trouba out and Bitetto not playing up to par, there should be no excuse to not play him and if Quinn opts to keep him out, we have a bigger problem.
Nevertheless, this is the game where guys need to step up and show up. Guys like Kakko and Chytil who have been a stranger to the scoring columns as of late need to kick it up a notch and break the cold streaks. We know what's at stake with the remaining games and what we need to do and it starts tonight by shaking off the loss against the Isles and bouncing back against a team we know we can dominate. Win that first face-off and get pucks on net early and often. Urgency, desperation type hockey, the closer to the race we get the more intense we need to be.
Chris Feldman
Kommentarer