The Rangers, coming off possibly their worst effort of the season in their 3-1 loss to Carolina on Tuesday play the second game of their three-game road trip in Minnesota on Thursday. The Wild, 22-7-4 at home, still hold on to the seventh spot in the Western Conference but have lost two in a row in overtime and three of four despite the acquisition of Matt Moulson at the trading deadline. New York is in second place in the Metro Division, one point ahead of Columbus and Philadelphia, though each have a game in hand. In addition, the surging Devils are just three points behind the Rangers and Washington, despite two straight defeats, are still just four points back.

Heading into tonight, changes may occur to the projected lineup below. There are two changes we already know of reflected below. The first, is that Daniel Carcillo will get back into the lineup after sitting Tuesday in order to play Derek Dorsett. Coach Alain Vigneault indicated that Carcillo is getting playing, not because Dorsett played poorly, but because the fourth line was more effective with Carcillo alongside Boyle and Moore. Of course, our view before the game the other night is that it shouldn’t have been changed at all, so glad AV realized that and restored the trio. Second, is the insertion of Cam Talbot, who has allowed two goals or fewer in 13 of 16 starts, for Henrik Lundqvist with the Rangers on the front end of back-to-back contests. Lundqvist will get back into the lineup Friday against the Jets.

Now for the proposed changes, which will be up front and probably should also be on blueline. The "third" line will remain the same while I have spelled out above the change to the fourth one. AV changed up the lines in the third period Tuesday with little effect. The prevailing net is that he wants to get more of a "net presence," which would entail a possible swap of Carl Hagelin and Chris Kreider, each of whom have struggled offensively recently. Kreider, despite the two goals Sunday, has really had a difficult time lately, though that pales to what Hagelin has gone through. Although part of those struggles recently have come post-Callahan deal. As Pat Leonard points out, Callahan played in front a lot, so Hags was used to using his speed to chase the puck into the corners, while now, Martin St. Louis likes to deal in the corners, so Hagelin is forced to the front of the net, which is not his game, and quick plays across the blue line. A change could be what each and their respective lines need. It would restore the Hagelin-Stepan-Nash line that had some success last year while Kreider can provide some size and body in front of the net to take advantage of the puck possession and cycling of Richards and St. Louis.

On the blue line, there is one change that won't occur, but may be warranted. Marc Staal and Anton Stralman were awful Tuesday and that's a word that can be used for Stralman a lot lately. AV has shifted him down and Kevin Klein up, with the next step sitting Stralman, likely, or Klein, unlikely, for Raphael Diaz, who the Rangers acquired at the deadline. To me, sitting Stralman for Diaz for at least one game makes lots of sense.

Projected Lineup: (subject to swap of left wingers on top two lines)

RANGERS

Kreider – Stepan – Nash
Hagelin – Richards – St. Louis
Pouliot – Brassard – Zuccarello
Boyle – Moore – Carcillo

(based on Dorsett coming off ice early and AV talking to Carcillo, this change could occur tonight. Unsure why you mess with success, especially when fourth line was solid Sunday)

McDonagh – Girardi
Staal – Stralman
Moore – Klein

Cam Talbot (starting)
Henrik Lundqvist

Separately, the Rangers restored their Ryan quota, inking Ryan Haggerty from RPI to an entry-level deal. Haggerty, who lives in Stamford, Ct. has been a life-long Rangers fan and gets to now fulfill a dream playing with the organization. He has size, at 6-feet, 200-pounds, and shown he can score, with a league-leading 28 games in 35 games, but is in need of some seasoning. However, it's pretty clear that in order to sign him, they had to guarantee he would finish the year in the majors, burning a year off his ELC. Haggerty, who played with JT Miller in 2011 WJC and worked out with Martin St. Louis in the off-season, likely won't get into a game unless the team has clinched a playoff spot but gets to learn at this level and should begin 2015 in Hartford.

Also, speedy recovery to Joe Micheletti, who is on IR with a torn Achilles suffered playing pick-up basketball. Dave Maloney moves to the TV side and Martin Biron will handle radio duties with Kenny Albert.

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