Tortorella Shakes Things Up
After that unspeakably pathetic performance against the Islanders, it was only a matter of time before the Torts BlenderTM was given a press. The Rangers will square off against the Flyers with revamped lines:
Brandon Dubinsky-Artem Anisimov - Brandon Prust
Ruslan Fedotanko - Brian Boyle - Ryan Callahan
Vinny Prospal - Derek Stepan - Marian Gaborik
Wojtek Wolski - Erik Christensen - Sean Avery
It's a bit surprising to see Callahan pulled from the Pack Line. But then again, there isn't much of a reason to delve too deeply into the shake-up. If the Rangers have a rough start to the game tomorrow it's a safe bet that these lines won't last very long. With Mats Zuccarello down on the farm, Torts doesn't have any personnel decisions to make. This is the squad up front that is going to decide whether or not we're gearing up for a playoff run or drowning our collective sorrows in bottom shelf whiskey by this time next Saturday. Let's hope for the former shall we.
Scoreboard Watching:
Even though the Rangers still control their own destiny, it sure as heck would take a bit of pressure off if the Buffalo Sabres and Carolina Hurricanes flop tonight. The Sabres are matched up with the Washington Capitals. The Capitals already have their playoff spot locked up, but that hasn't stopped them from finishing up March with a 6-0-1 record. It looks like the Sabres will have Jhonas Enroth in goal and hopefully his shutout against the Rangers was nothing more than an aberration.
As for the Hurricanes, well they're squaring off with the Islanders who are still cleaning up Nassau Coliseum from the victory celebration following their game against the Rangers. The Isles relish their role as the spoilers as it exacerbates the organization's 'woe is me' attitude. It is the one night of the year where wanting the Islanders to come up with a 'w' is okay.