Peter Laviolette has deployed the identical skaters up to now eight video games, however the Rangers head coach put the traces in a blender on the way in which to a 4-0 loss to the Hurricanes on Tuesday night time at Madison Sq. Backyard.
Whereas they weren’t efficient, it’s doable Laviolette will choose to make some modifications going right into a back-to-back weekend slate towards the Bruins and Golden Knights.
After bumping Vincent Trocheck to middle Will Cuylle and Reilly Smith, Laviolette threw Artemi Panarin-Filip Chytil-Chris Kreider on the market.
We additionally noticed Arthur Kaliyev slot subsequent to Adam Edstrom and Sam Carrick, along with a small stretch with Panarin subsequent to Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere.
“I had bumped any person with Fil and Kreids a number of instances by way of the course of the sport,” he mentioned. “We didn’t generate a lot by way of the primary and second durations. I feel perhaps we had six, seven probabilities, and so they may’ve had eight even-strength. There wasn’t an entire lot happening, however once we did transfer it up there was a pair probabilities that we generated on Fil’s line.
“So we had been transferring items round simply attempting, down 2-0, don’t suppose we had been producing rather a lot and simply looking for one thing.”
It’s doable we see a number of of the three skaters — Jimmy Vesey, Zac Jones and Jonny Brodzinski — who’ve sat out for a comparatively lengthy time period.
The least doubtless could be Jones due to how a lot credit score Laviolette has given the new-look protection for the Rangers’ capacity to stabilize this month.ranger
Jones hasn’t seen sport motion since Dec. 23, and has been a wholesome scratch in 18 of the previous 19 contests.
Brodzinski has been a wholesome scratch up to now eight video games, whereas Vesey has watched from the press field in eight of the previous 9.
The Rangers had been off on Wednesday and are set to return to observe on Thursday in Tarrytown.
AHL Hartford ahead Alex Belzile and goalie Dylan Garand will symbolize the Wolf Pack on the AHL All-Star Traditional on Feb. 2 and three.