When: Monday, January 5, 2026 | 7:00 p.m.
Where: Madison Square Garden (New York, NY)
TV:MSG
Streaming: Gotham Sports Network
Radio: ESPN Radio New York 880 AM
The New York Rangers rolled over the Florida Panthers at the 2026 NHL Winter Classic 5-1, and despite the recent success, Mike Sullivan is shaking things up to start the upcoming homestand. The team practiced on Sunday, and the team had new line combinations with Justin Dowling and Anton Blidh occupying spots in the bottom six, Urho Vaakanainen skated on the third pair, and both Brett Berard and Matthew Robertson were on the outside looking in.
Sullivan shared his thoughts on the changes, and how it comes down to comfort down the middle.
#NYR coach Mike Sullivan spoke about why he values having Dowling and Blidh in the lineup, noting that he likes dressing more than 4 forwards who are comfortable playing center. Dowling and Brodzinski can provide that while Miller is out, although he also noted preferring…
— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) January 4, 2026
Sullivan likes having versatility of dressing additional centers
He also expanded by mentioning he likes having Anton Blidh as a disruptive presence on the forecheck, and reading in between the lines suggest that Brett Berard could be heading back to Hartford soon. The young forward clearly hasn't earned the trust of the coaching staff, and he's received limited minutes. He also hasn't done anything of note, and it becomes a chicken and egg case of whether it is the lack of production causing the limited minutes, or the limited minutes causing lack of production.
In any case, the Rangers will insert Miller and Noah Laba back into the lineup when they are healthy, so Justin Dowling and Blidh's playing time in the meantime is what it is.
Robertson's expected scratch is curious decision
In addition to the forward moves, Vaakanainen is tracking to make his first real appearance since December 15th. He logged just 3:59 against the Nashville Predators on December 21, and you'd hardly consider that real action.
The removal of Robertson from the lineup is quite curious, as he had a strong month of December. Robertson logged 214 minutes at 5v5, and in that span had a 67.88 GF%, a 54.31 CF%, and a 56.04 xGF%. If the coaching staff is looking to shake things up and get Vaakanainen action because it's been a bit, Carson Soucy would have been a much better candidate. Soucy's month of December was rough, and in 226 minutes he posted a 59.6 GF%, a 45.44 CF%, and a 47.32 xGF%.
Player | GF per 60 | GA per 60 | xGF per 60 | xGA per 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Robertson | 3.04 | 1.44 | 2.16 | 2.40 |
Soucy | 1.59 | 1.08 | 3.45 | 2.70 |
These splits, courtesy of Evolving-Hockey, are quite stark, and it is of relevance considering Soucy had 226 minutes and Robertson had 214. Had the time on ice gap been more significant, you could make a case that Robertson was playing well in more of a "sheltered" environment.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin -- Mika Zibanejad -- Will Cuylle
Gabe Perreault -- Vincent Trocheck -- Alexis Lafrenière
Jonny Brodzinski -- Justin Dowling -- Taylor Raddysh
Anton Blidh -- Sam Carrick -- Matt Rempe
Vladislav Gavrikov -- Adam Fox
Carson Soucy -- Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen -- Braden Schneider
Igor Shesterkin
Utah Mammoth
Clayton Keller -- Nick Schmaltz -- JJ Peterka
Lawson Crouse -- Barrett Hayton -- Dylan Guenther
Michael Carcone -- Jack McBain -- Daniil But
Liam O'Brien -- Kevin Stenlund -- Alex Kerfoot
Mikhail Sergachev -- Sean Durzi
Nate Schmidt -- John Marino
Ian Cole -- Nick DeSimone
Karel Vejmelka