Rangers revert to familiar line combinations looking to regain spark
With the New York Rangers look to solve their recent struggles, coach Peter Laviolette is reverting to tried-and-true forward line combinations in hopes that familiarity can spark his team, which has lost six of its past seven games.
The Rangers are 1-6-0 and coming off a 5-1 loss on home ice to the New Jersey Devils on Monday, perhaps reaching a boiling point just over a quarter way into the season. Laviolette used several different line combinations over this stretch, in part because Filip Chytil and Chris Kreider missed seven and three games respectively due to injury. The coach was also looking to try something fresh because the original line combinations used most of the season had grown stale.
“It wasn’t working, so you move things around,” Laviolette said Wednesday. “A couple days of practice and guys working together, you’d like to think that it can have some positive impact in the game coming up.”
The Rangers hope three days off will have them ready to come back with a better effort Friday at home against the rejuvenated Pittsburgh Penguins, who have won four straight games. Pittsburgh trails New York by just one point for fourth place in the Metropolitan Division, and the Rangers are only two points out last place.
Reverting back to the original lines makes sense for the Rangers. They got off to a scorching start to the season (5-0-1) before cooling down, and since changing the lineup, they’ve been ice cold. Reuniting the line of Artemi Panarin, Vincent Trocheck, and Alexis Lafreniere is the sensible play. Though they haven’t been as much of a threat as last season when they were arguably one of the best lines in the NHL, there is still a good chance that they could reignite that spark.
“I think it possible,” answered Laviolette when asked if the trio can find that game again. “It might be a better question for them, but it’s definitely possible. There’s been a lines in history that have gone on and played for multiple years together and they’ve had success. But from a team standpoint, I think there’s another gear and another level that everybody has to get to, including that line.”
Related: Mika Zibanejad calls for combination of ‘desperation’ and ‘cool head’ to get Rangers out of rut
Rangers revert to familiar look against Penguins
So, as the Rangers revert back to their old combinations, expect the lineup to look something like this:
Panarin – Trocheck – Lafreniere
Kreider – Zibanejad – Smith
Cuylle – Chytil – Kakko
Edstrom – Carrick – Vesey
Lindgren – Fox
Miller – Schneider
Jones – Trouba
Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad are reunited once again after being separated for several games. Perhaps the long-time duo will find their better selves 5v5, again skating with Reilly Smith, who was a healthy scratch just two games ago.
The third line of Will Cuylle, Filip Chytil, and Kaapo Kakko should provide a two-way boost for the Rangers. They outscored opponents 5v5 11-0 before being split up in recent weeks, in addition to Chytil missing time with injury. They looked themselves when reunited later on in the game against the Devils.
Laviolette has tried pretty much everything. So, now, he goes back to how it all started in training camp and Game 1 of the regular season, ironically in Pittsburgh, against the Penguins.
Let’s see if the timing is right to make this move.
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