Rangers News: Lines shuffled for tonight, Torts wants more from Cally and Higgy
Steve Zipay at Blue Notes and Andrew Gross at Ranger Rants both had this, here's a piece of each one, Zipay first:
New third line: Lisin-Anisimov-Higgins, At least that's the way it'll start against New Jersey in Manhattan tonight. Lisin, who has goals in two straight, could also see some time on a second line, perhaps swapping with RW Ryan Callahan, who head coach John Tortorella would like to see produce more. Callahan has two assists but no goals in the last three.
Torts also said Higgins has to get it going:
As for Higgins, Tortorella tabbed it "a big game for him as far as trying to get back on the right road" tonight. I'm sure Higgins (pointless in the last seven) wants to get on the scoreboard before he returns to Montreal to face his old mates on Saturday.
And from Andrew Gross:
Tortorella said the fourth line, minus Lisin, was "brutal" against the Sharks, particularly in the neutral zone. Tonight, the top line of Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik will remain intact but Tortorella seemed to put second line right wing Ryan Callahan on notice by saying he hasn’t gotten quite the offensive production he wants out of him. At the same time, Tortorella acknowledged Callahan’s importance to the team and said he has to be counted on as one of the top players, which, in Torts’ speak, means a top six forward. Callahan has two goals and three assists this season and has two assists in his last three games, though he’s gone three games without a goal.
Also if you click the link above for Blue Notes, John Tortorella talks about how he almost put Valiquette back in after the Sharks got their 6th goal. He said that he felt they still had a chance to win the game, and that's why Valiquette was pulled.