BUFFALO – Glen Sather rearranged the furniture for last night’s game here against the Sabres. It was anyone’s guess for how long the remodeling would last.
Bobby Holik, clearly the team’s best player since the end of October, was moved off the first line and shifted onto what could only be called a fourth line, his wingers no longer Martin Rucinsky and Alex Kovalev, but rather Dan LaCouture and Jed Ortmeyer. Eric Lindros, who’d played pretty much everywhere and with everyone, took Holik’s spot, a curious move given No. 88’s past incompatibility with Kovalev.
Jan Hlavac, benched after a defensive-zone giveaway for the final two periods of Wednesday’s 2-1 Garden loss to Montreal, was back on left wing with Petr Nedved and Anson Carter. Meanwhile, Mark Messier remained ensconced as the third-line center (What happened to the concept of reduced minutes for No. 11?) between Chris Simon and Matt Barnaby.
“I want to try to get everyone going,” Sather said following the morning skate. “I’m not making any predictions or promises about how long we’re going to stay with these lines, but that’s the way we’re going to start the game.
“We’re going to give [the Sabres] some different looks.”
The Rangers had scored 13 goals in their previous five games, going 1-4 and falling one game under NHL .500 in the process. They entered last night’s match in ninth place, one of four teams between eighth and 11th within two games of break-even on either side. The Hurricanes, four under, were in 12th place. With a match tonight in Toronto, the Rangers had little margin for error.
Perhaps that’s why moving Holik down – even if for a shift or two – seemed so surprising. Yes, last night’s match marked the first of a back-to-back and the second of three in four nights, but the Rangers need their best players on the ice as much – not as little – as possible. Matching Lindros and Kovalev, players with conflicting styles, also appeared bizarre.
“I am not going to question my role or why things are done,” said Holik, whom Sather still refuses to match against the opposition’s top line, regardless of the identity of his wingers. “Glen told me that I’d be playing with Danny and Jed, and so I’ll go out and do my best.
“I’m not looking at this as anything more than the coach making a change he thinks is in the best interests of the team. This isn’t the mid-90’s in New Jersey with me wondering about my role on the Crash Line.”
Lindros, scoreless in his last five games, wasn’t questioning Sather’s machinations, either. He’s become accustomed to checking hockey’s equivalent of baseball’s lineup card before not only each game, but before each practice.
“I’m not going to read anything into this; you never know how things are going to unfold until you get out there,” No. 88 said. “I’m just looking forward to getting the opportunity to play, no different than anyone else.”