The New York Rangers didn't need to receive this kind of news during a tough portion of their schedule. During Saturday's game against the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Rangers lost top defenseman Adam Fox and he didn't return. It was recently revealed that Fox is dealing with a left shoulder injury and was placed on long term injured reserve, meaning he is week-to-week.
Given that Fox is expected to return at some point before the Olympics in February, Rangers fans were speculating on who could fill in at the top defensive pairing spot alongside Vladislav Gavrikov. Many fans and media thought it could be Scott Morrow, who the Rangers acquired in the offseason from the Carolina Hurricanes in the K'Andre Miller trade. Morrow slots in as a right sided defenseman.
But, based on practice on Monday, it seems as though Braden Schneider will get the first chance to fill in for Fox. As for Morrow, he is slotted in as the third-pairing defenseman alongside Matthew Robertson. Even so, this is still an expanded opportunity for Morrow, who has only played an average of 13:37 per game through four games.
Mike Sullivan says what he wants to see from Scott Morrow in expanded role
When asked about what Morrow needs to do to make the most of his current opportunity and eventually earn a more prominent role on the roster, Sullivan didn't hold back in his assessment of his game.
"Assertive play. Making decisions with conviction and not being in between. Eliminating hesitation from his game," said Sullivan, h/t The Athletic's Vince Mercogliano.
That's some straightforward analysis from Sullivan on what Morrow needs to do to ensure he gets meaningful minutes. He was sent down to the AHL to work on his defensive game. Not to mention, he only has three points in 12 games with Hartford. That's not exactly ideal.
Not only did Morrow not get the first pairing defenseman job, he isn't on the top power play unit. Instead, Sullivan is going with a five forward power play unit with Artemi Panarin, Mika Zibanejad, J.T. Miller, Vincent Trocheck, and Will Cuylle. Morrow is instead on the second power play unit alongside Alexis Lafreniere, Conor Sheary, Jonny Brodzinski, and Noah Laba.
Sullivan said that his reasoning behind not putting Morrow, Gavrikov, and Schneider on the top power play is because he doesn't think that playing on it is "the strength of their games to this point."
Plans can obviously change in the coming games. Considering Fox is going to be out for a bit, this gives Sullivan an opportunity to test out lineup changes to see what work. But this does come during a stretch of tough opponents. We'll see how Morrow and Schneider in their respective roles against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.