When it rains it pours for the New York Rangers. Dryden Hunt has suffered an upper body injury and was put on Injured Reserve and Julien Gauthier joined Igor Shesterkin and Artemi Panarin on the COVID protocol list. What it means is a weak bottom six will be even weaker and we will see some new faces in the lineup against Anaheim.
They team recalled Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger from the Taxi Squad while Zac Jones was returned to it. Morgan Barron is already on the active roster so unless Panarin gets off the COVID list, between Brodzinski, Gettinger and Barron, two will get the start.
UPDATE: #NYR have recalled Jonny Brodzinski and Tim Gettinger from the taxi squad. Zac Jones has been assigned to the taxi squad and Dryden Hunt (upper body) has been placed on IR.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) January 7, 2022
Libor Hajek was a -4 against Vegas, but got no support from his forwards. Nils Lundkvist has been healthy scratch for three games in favor of Zac Jones who was -3 in Vegas. Gerard Gallant indicated that Jarred Tinordi will be back in the lineup, probably paired with Lundkvist.
Gallant knows Tinordi from when he was a assistant coach in Montreal. He talked about Tinordi’s season. “He had a tough start, never really got any momentum here either. He’s played one game and out, two games and out…I got all the confidence in the world in him. He’s a big strong guy, he played really well last season in Boston. He’s had a lot of different things happen…injuries, COVID.”
The mess at forward
Gallant took lot of questions about the forward lines and it’s obvious that his hands are almost tied by the limitations of the roster. He was asked if Filip Chytil could play the wing, but he said that they are happy with their centers, just that Chytil was having a tough time. Right.
He conceded that playing Barclay Goodrow on the second line weakens the bottom six considerably and his preference is to use him on the third or fourth lines. He did say that it is very likely that they will keep Lafrenière on the top six, probably on the right side of Ryan Strome when Panarin comes back.
Gallant had one interesting observation about Lafrenière, noting that he played well in the two home games when Gallant had more control over the match ups. The same goes for the defense pairings. The last change is even more important for young team like the Blueshirts. When a the Rangers use youngsters like Hajek and Jones as a defense pair, opposing coaches tend to exploit that. The same goes for the forward lines.
Matching lines is one big reason why we will see a veteran like Tinordi in the lineup in place of rookie Zac Jones.
Anaheim game a go (so far)
As of Friday night, the game with Anaheim is still going to be played. The Ducks’ game on Thursday with Detroit was postponed to Sunday. No Anaheim players were added to the COVID list and Trevor Zegras came off so they are slightly better off.
The biggest issue for Eastern Conference teams like the Red Wings and Rangers is scheduling a make up. It would be very difficult to get either team to make the transcontinental trip for just one game when the schedule is already jampacked. That means if the game Saturday is postponed, they will still try to squeeze it in while the Rangers are on the west coast.
Here’s who is on the COVID list for the Ducks: Vinni Lettieri, John Gibson, Sam Carrick, Hampus Lindholm, Derek Grant, Nicolas Delauriers, Max Jones and Ryan Getzlaf. Of that group Gibson, Lindholm, Grant, Delauriers, Getzlaf and Carrick are all regulars.
Anthony Stolarz has been the back to John Gibson and has had a fine season with a 6-2-1 record and a 2.13 goals against average and a .932 save percentag.
Considering the number of players from both teams out of action, it should make for an interesting contest. And of course, that’s not to say that there won’t be more lineup changes before puck drop at 10pm EST on Saturday.