Vigneault Confirms Rangers Will Use 11 Forwards, 7 Defensemen vs. Sharks
The New York Rangers are fresh off a 4-2 victory against the Nashville Predators, and Alain Vigneault is going to use 11 forwards and seven defenders for the second game in a row.
AV said #NYR will deploy 11 forwards and 7 defensemen tonight against San Jose.
— New York Rangers (@NYRangers) October 23, 2017
Vigneault also said he is going with the lineup that gives him the best chance of winning and that a call up at center could be possible in the coming days.
Vigneault said he's going with 7 D and 11 F again, giving his team "the best chance" to win. Possible C call up in next few days. #NYR
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) October 23, 2017
Nothing was set, but Vigneault said he'll talk to Gorton soon. 3 guys mentioned (b/c they're C's) were Chytil, Nieves and Lettieri. #NYR
— Brett Cyrgalis (@BrettCyrgalis) October 23, 2017
Vigneault is continuing his trend of sticking with a winning lineup, but long term using seven defensemen isn’t the greatest of strategies when you consider how thin the team’s center depth already is.
Filip Chytil is the logical first choice call up for the Rangers, but that is only if he is going to be used properly. If he is going to be used for limited minutes in the bottom six he should stay in Hartford and that would leave Cristoval Nieves and Vinni Lettieri.
According to our resident HockeyStatMiner, this should be the seventh time Vigneault has set a lineup including seven defenders and 11 forwards.
***(though 11/3/16 vs EDM the 7th defenseman, Clendo, did not play at all, so technically 11F/6D)***
— HockeyStatMiner (@HockeyStatMiner) October 21, 2017