A new look for the Rangers top two lines

There will be a new look to the top two lines when the Rangers take on Pittsburgh Friday.  Although David Quinn said that the forward lines he used in practice yesterday were due to injuries, it now looks like he will use them in the Penguins game. Mika Zibanejad will have a new left winger in Alexis Lafrenière and Chris Kreider will shift to the right side.   Pavel Buchnevich will move to the second line playing right wing with Artemi Panarin and Ryan Strome.

Making this move will hopefully jump start Lafrenière who didn’t have much success playing the right side with Strome and Panarin.   It will also give Panarin a linemate who is off to a hot start. Hopefully the addition of Buchnevich will also give a boost to Strome who has been sleepwalking through this season so far.

David Quinn  was asked if the Buchnevich move was made to spark that line. He said “That’s why we did it…the way Buchie’s been playing s far, competing and playing in all three zones. Obviously he’s got skill to complement those guys as well, it’s worth looking at…we’ll see  how it goes.”

Mika Zibanejad skated in practice and looks ready to go. He said that he feels fine after a hard collision with the boards on Tuesday.

He spoke to reporters about the new line. “It will be fun. I haven’t played with Laffy at all and Kreids is on the right so I’m sure it will take some time.   I’m hoping/thinking it will turn out good.”

When  asked what impresses him about Lafrenière,  Zibanejad said “I think he’s very mature for his age, the speed he plays at and the way he sees the ice. It’s a step up from where he’s been playing, but he’s done a really good job from what I saw.  Maybe a goal will get his confidence up, a little more comfortable…..i really like what I see from him.  He’s a real pro, I m excited to get to play with him. ”

There may be a change on the fourth line now that Kevin Rooney is back from his injury.  Again, it is a question of who sits if he is back in the lineup.  The one candidate is Julien Gauthier since Quinn has been relying on Brett Howden on the penalty kill and he probably won’t sit Brendan Lemieux.

The good news is that Quinn is leaving the Chytil-Kakko-DiGiuseppe line alone as that line has been developing some chemistry.    Some may think that breaking up the chemistry between Zibanejad, Kreider and Buchnevich is a mistake, but for now the moves make sense.

The one issue with the line changes is Kreider moving to the right side.  He played a few games there last season and didn’t impress, but he hasn’t done much at even strength at his normal position.  The power play is clicking, but the Rangers need to figure out how to score five on five.

No word on the defense

You can be sure that Tony DeAngelo will be back in the lineup, but the question remains who he will replace.  Quinn had indicated that he could have restored DeAngelo back into the lineup on Tuesday, but his philosophy of not taking players out of the lineup when they have played well meant that he had to sit.

Whether that helped or hurt the lineup is a question.   Jacob Trouba had a rough game in his second outing with Ryan Lindgren as his partner, but it would tough to imagine Quinn moving Lindgren back to play with Adam Fox after just two games.  If DeAngelo is back on the third pairing, it means that either Brendan Smith, Jack Johnson or K’Ande Miller will be odd man out.

Miller was very impressive moving the puck against the Devils and he looked much more confident.  Smith and Johnson both had five hits, most on the team and we all know the value that Quinn places on physical play.

The obvious player to sit  is Johnson who has the worst possession stats of the trio and is the only one of the three who has been on the ice for shots against than for the Rangers. That said, he is also second on the team  in penalty killing minutes, behind only Trouba.

Also, it would be embarrassing for him to be benched for his return to Pittsburgh, the team that bought him out.  You can be sure that he has an incentive to show them that they made a mistake, a factor that Quinn and defensive coach Jacques Martin have to be aware of.

It’s a tough call for the coach and it will be interesting to see what he does. After today’s practice, he said that decision will be made closer to game time.