Just four times in the 77-year history of the franchise have the Rangers failed to accumulate more than one point during a homestand lasting at least four games. Last night, Bryan Trottier implemented dramatic changes in his forward line combinations in an attempt to avoid the fifth such Garden failure.
With only a tie and a pair of defeats to show for the three previous Broadway matches this week against the Predators, Lightning and Caps, the Rangers went into last night’s game against the Kings with four new concoctions, including one centered by Petr Nedved, whose days as left wing on the Eric Lindros-Pavel Bure unit have apparently come to an end.
Nedved, who never seemed to mesh with his marquee partners despite diligence on and away from the puck, was between old running mate Radek Dvorak and new sidekick Jamie Lundmark, at least to start. The combination not only allows Nedved to move back to his natural spot in the middle, but creates a bit of a comfort zone for himself and right wing Dvorak, who responded to last Saturday’s third-period benching with a pair of forceful efforts.
The change also gets Lundmark, who played the left, off the fourth line, where he was essentially wasted. Neither Dvorak nor Lundmark has scored a goal for the offensively inept squad.
“I feel good about being back at center, but I didn’t have any negative feelings about playing on the wing, either,” Nedved, who had one assist in seven games following his two-goal opening night, said following yesterday’s morning skate. “I’ve said many times that I’m just interested in contributing wherever I’m asked to play, and that is the way I feel about it. Maybe this change will get us all going.”
With Nedved in the middle, Matt Barnaby – the team’s most effective winger through the first eight games – moved up to play with Lindros and Bure. Bobby Holik, largely ineffective between Rem Murray and Mikael Samuelsson, played between Ronald Petrovicky and Sandy McCarthy, though it was unclear whether Trottier intended to use that trio as a checking unit to play against the Los Angeles top line that features Jason Allison and Zigmund Palffy. If not, it would be fair to wonder why the Rangers even bothered to sign Holik, let alone for $45 million over five years.
Finally, completing the personnel shift, Mark Messier skated between Murray and Samuelsson. It was also unclear whether Trottier regarded this unit as his fourth line, whether he would roll four lines, and whether, in the first of a back-to-back situation that concludes tonight in Toronto, the coach would reduce Messier’s ice time.
The Captain went into last night’s game averaging 18:15 a game, fourth among Ranger forwards behind Bure (21:56), Nedved (21:30) and Lindros (20:36).
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Homestand marked the 69th in team history of four games or more. Blueshirts went 0-4 from Mar. 24-Apr. 2, 1993, in addition to going 0-3-1 in 1957-58 and twice during the 1946-47 season.
Blueshirts assigned Dixon Ward to Hartford yesterday afternoon and for the time being will stick with a 22-man roster, one under the limit. Ward had been scratched from the three previous games.
Dave Karpa (elbow) and Richard Lintner (knee) skated with the club yesterday morning.