Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Gomez Update & More Line Juggling

Sam Weinman at The Rangers Report writes...

On Gomez...

"As I write this, Scott Gomez is testing out his bruised ribs by going through a series of sprints administered by Perry Pearn.

Gomez looks good, if not entirely happy. His stride doesn’t appear to be hindered, and he’s even been able to get off a series of shots...

...Gomez didn’t have much to report afterward , saying it felt good to be back on the ice but that he didn’t know about tomorrow."

...hopefully Pearn does a better job getting Gomez ready to play than he does our power play.

On lineup changes...

"...With Michal Rozsival back skating today and likely for tomorrow, Renney had Rozsival back with Christian Backman on one (power play) unit, and Paul Mara with Dan Girardi on the other. This might finally mean that Fedor Tyutin, who has been a weak link on the man-advantage for some time now, won’t be there against the Devils.

There was also a switch to the line combinations. If Gomez doesn’t play, look for Nigel Dawes to skate with Chris Drury and Petr Prucha, while Ryan Callahan moves up to the left side with Sean Avery and Brendan Shanahan.

With Rozsival and Mara back healthy, Marek Malik skated today with Jason Strudwick, which doesn’t bode well for tomorrow."

...while I'm not excited with more line changes, I'm hopeful that the Callahan-Avery-Shanahan line can rekindle some of the magic they had during the stretch run last year.

...if no further injuries occur to our defense, last night might have been the last time we see Malik in the lineup. Especially with the improved play of Backman.

2 comments:

bpette02 said...

I think the Sean Avery at center experiment should end. He is more valuable playing the wing, where he can get into the corners and forecheck. Also he plays well with Dubinsky and Jagr. I'd use Straka at center if Gomez is hurt. I'd Leave Callahan with Drury and put Prucha on the other side. I'd keep Dawes and Shanny together with Straka at center.

Also I can't live with Hollweg at center. Please call up Gregg Moore.

I do agree with NYRFAN that BAckman has played 2 solid games in a row. Let's see if he can keep it up.

Malik had a tough game last night but I don't think he should be relegated to the bench. Let's see what Backman and Mara can do. If Either of them falter they should come right back with Malik.

Anonymous said...

Malik had a very tough game as he was on the ice for both goals, misplayed the 1st one and failed to take down or interfere with the breakaway... tough game

As bad as the powerplay is...the Rangers seem to be just as bad 4 on 4... both goals last night were 4 on4...
so we cant score with a man up and we cant stop anyone playing 4 v 4...thats unacceptable with this talent