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Rangers look to play a complete 60 minutes Sunday versus the Blue Jackets |
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The Rangers look to get back to winning ways tonight against the Blue Jackets. New York put together a subpar effort Thursday, falling 3-2 to San Jose. Sunday is the Blueshirts' third straight home game with the four-game MSG run completing Tuesday against the Avalanche.
Lines in practice today:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Kakko
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Vesey-Chytil-Goodrow-Kravtsov
Blais-Carpenter-Reaves
In practice today, Vitali Kravtsov also saw time on the second power play unit, replacing Zac Jones, seemingly indicating he will return to the lineup. Kravtsov, who last played Opening Night October 11 against Tampa Bay, was cleared to return Thursday, but remained out of the active roster. Following the loss to the Sharks, all signs point to Kravtsov replacing Jimmy Vesey on the third line.
If Kravtsov does land on the third line, he will have a chance to play with Filip Chytil, who has stepped up his game this season. Building off his strong postseason, Chytil has posted three points (two goals and an assist) through five games, including a breakaway goal Thursday. On top of the offensive production, his 51.08% faceoff win rate is a career-best, evidencing his continued growth. In addition, as Vince Mercogliano noted, Chytil has also improved defensively. One stat Mercogliano noted is that Chytil and Barclay Goodrow are the only forwards who have played all five games and have yet to be on ice for a five-on-five goal against. That latter aspect is where Kravtsov will need to show he should remain in the lineup. - or on that line - especially if his offense is not evident immediately.
Personally, I would sit Ryan Reaves and play Vesey on the fourth line. Vesey has not been great, but he can be used on the penalty kill and is a far more complete player than Reaves. But as we have seen, the fourth line has been on ice fairly minimally as coach Gerard Gallant has been rolling three lines. I would like to see the fourth line get another 2-3 minutes nightly, taking the pressure off the top-nine. But if the third line can produce, give that trio those minutes.
New York is facing a Columbus team that blew a 3-1 lead to Pittsburgh on Saturday, falling 6-3.. With the loss, the Blue Jackets fell 2-4, worst in the Eastern Conference. Getting on top early and maintaining the focus that has been lacking since Opening Night will be a key to winning.
The Rangers played a complete 60-minute game against Tampa Bay. Since then, we have seen dominant stretches mixed with others where the Blueshirts have looked lost to an extent on the ice. Defensive and neutral zone lapses have been evident in nearly every contest since the win over Tampa, including versus Minnesota, Winnipeg, Anaheim and recently against San Jose. Part of the problem might be the team looking to build off their offensive success leading to defensive breakdowns and turnovers. Maintaining their attention to detail for all 60 minutes and limiting mistakes was the main focus at practice yesterday and needs to be key tomorrow and especially Tuesday against Colorado.
New York Rangers Blogger • 
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