It’s been two days since the Rangers last played, and hopefully the past 48 hours have helped the New York Rangers get some of the clutter out of their heads and are ready to bring it tonight against the Boston Bruins.
The Bruins, if you would remember, handed the Rangers their first loss on Saturday when Boston beat the Rangers 3-1 to open the season. Since then the Rangers have lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their home opener, and had a practice Tuesday in which they worked on pretty much everything.
New York got some good news when Chris Kreider came to practice with no concussion symptoms from the hit he took from Brooks Orpik. The team also received news that Arron Asham might not be available for tonight’s game due to a groin strain.
Here’s a few other notes from the practice:
– The Rangers tried a first line of Rick Nash, Marian Gaborik and Brad Richards. I like this idea, especially since the Rangers have had some issues putting the puck in the net. But I also don’t like this idea because the Bruins can now send Zdeno Chara out against all three of the Rangers top scorers at once. Splitting up Gaborik and Nash would force the Bruins to make a choice. Now they don’t have to.
– I thought Derek Stepan had a pretty good game against the Penguins. Hopefully that trend continues against the Bruins. According to reports, he was on a line with Ryan Callahan and Chris Kreider in practice. I’m a big fan of this line.
– I’m also a big fan of Kreider being on the second line. I think he needs to get more minutes to prove he belongs and to find his game.
– The Rangers talked about their lack of a battle level all through practice. Let’s hope they show it tonight.
Thoughts?