Scott Gomez, whose ribs are still sore, didn't skate, won't play tomorrow and probably should rest Thursday against Devils. Smart. Wait until he's closer to 100 percent. Doesn't appear as if D Paul Mara will return either...
That means RW Petr Prucha, as we reported on Saturday, will be in for the first time in 16 games, skating with Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan, the same line as on that day. Marty Straka moves up to left wing with Jaromir Jagr and C Brandon Dubinsky; Sean Avery centers Nigel Dawes and Brendan Shanahan and Ryan Hollweg centers Colton Orr and Fred Sjostrom.
Minus Blair Betts (foot), I'm not crazy about Hollweg or Avery as centers; believe they are more effective on the wing.
Why not C Greg Moore, who had a goal and three assists in two games for Hartford over the weekend, you may ask? The coach wants to reward players who have hung in all season, and in critical games, it does probably make sense to lean on NHL experience.
Rangers-Devs game to close regular season on April 6 won't be on NBC that afternoon; they've used up allotment of Rangers games (four)....
Comments (37)
good call about gomez, i feel like they have been saying for weeks now that Mara would be ready the next game or the game after, is it just his conditioning holding him back?
any word on whether prucha will play on the power play? how many games, if any, has avery played at center?
314,
as far as Mara goes, it could be that Backman is coming off his best game as a Ranger by far, he's not going to sit, who else would sit to make room for Mara anyway?
Good. I'm sick of NBC. Their commentating is a disgrace to the sport. MSG all the way!
agree zip!..let gomer take a week off, to have him full strength for the playoffs..smart move by the team.
the line combos i dont get tho..why break up the dubie-jagr-avery line?..all they need to do is move straka or drury up to the shanny-dawes line to play center. 3 rd line has cally-prucha on it and straka or drury...the 4th line is gonna play minimal minutes for sure...i trust what renney does (unlike most of the people here) so i wont freak about it, just seems logical to keep that jagr line together.
backman needs to stay in, mara could be in the same situation as prucha was in (playing time). this is prolly a bad idea, but what aboot dressing 7 D with gomer out (if maras healthy)? have hollweg sit and double shift the centers..just a thought.
Good news about Gomez for me. Let him get better. I like giving the guys already with the team the shot before calling people up as well.
As for Mara, what is to say that his injuries were not worse then reported. I may be off but, just a thought. Did he possibly get a concussion that we have not hear about? That was a pretty good shot to the head to need some facial reconstruction. It is that time of year where the injuries are kept secrets...
Nobody noticed or added that Betts and Orr have played much better since Hollweg has been out of the lineup.
DUDE Malik
That has been said many times by many people. I don't think there is is a person here that thought Hollweg was getting back in this lineup after Sjostrom got here. Except for the situation you got now where he is needed because injury.
Sjostrom changed that line.
Don't you think Malik has played pretty well though?
Malik was out for two games and they lost both.
bklynblue,
My opinion is that you are not doing this team any favors making that move. Most won't agree because everyone loves to hate the guy but, Malik has been one of if not the best D-man out there for a while now. Mara's only shot for me is Backman. I think he is starting to come around as well. So it's going to be a tough choice but, one we should be glad to have.
Malik's goal that made it 2-1 friday night was huge.
Malik's play in front of the net Friday on the goal that made it 3-2, I believe, was soft. He was running around when he should have stayed at home on the left post and cleared the front. I'm not a Malik basher, but I would have no problem sitting him and inserting Mara to try and boost the power play. Right now our power play is the pits.
believe it or not , with Malik in since Jan16 ...13 wins, 0 losses, & 4 OTL, and he's plus 5 since the deadline. The whole D is not strong, it's a TEAM D effort with a top goalie.
i got a question, what exactly has mara done this year that has people dying from anticipation for his return to the line-up?..and for the majority of people to want mara in and malik/backman out when maras healthy, makes no sense to me.
a) hes SOFTER then malik (the favorite word to describe the rangers D as a whole, which is comical considering they're top 5 in leauge GAA)
b) the PP wasnt any better when he ran the point.
c) backman's offensive game is way better then maras (proven in philly, 3 assists)
d) same theory as the prucha situation (if it aint broke, dont fix it)
..i dont see why mara has to reenter the line-up
it is truly amazing the turn around. two weeks ago, EVERYONE was calling for malik and backmans head..hell, three days ago, you were calling for backmans head. dont get me wrong, he had a great game (period) and without him, we would have lost, but im still not 100% sold on him. but yes, malik has been by far our best d-man for a while, i feel like he is finally using his size. it is not that im dying to see mara, but he has a great shot from the point, something we are severly lacking on the PP.
314,
I hear what you are saying, but Backman certainly is going to stay in the lineup at least for tomorrow after the way he played Friday night.
I can say that I have not called for either head and I know a few guys here have not either.
I am not sold on Backman but, he is improving every game. I think he can really add offensively if given the opportunities. His first few games he was a wreck took bad penalties was all over the place. Of course that got him the label of the new Malik whipping boy one or two games wearing the jersey.
The only time I ever called for Malik to go was when he was causing trouble in the locker room.
I can agree with TJ a bit too. Maybe Mara is going to have to wait for the opportunity to get back in the line up.
314,
I NEVER called for either of there heads, i let my team work out the kinks (unlike this whole blog basically)... im just saying lets not make mara out to be ray bourque at the point..he played there earlier in the season, and the PP was just as bad as it is now...ive said it before, no single player is gonna make the PP better unless its brian leetch..sorry to say, mara isnt leetch.
the PP woes are attributed to the way they play it. they dont shoot enough, no matter who is back there. they dillydally with the puck, pass around the perimeter, look for an open man that seems like never becomes open :/...they need to be more unselfish and just pound the net w/ shots, IMO.
Still we do not have a defenseman that can clear out the front of the net...Opposing teams know they can just power their way to the net and score.
Backman hits less than Malik
"Opposing teams know they can just power their way to the net and score"
OK, then how come more teams don't do that and we have the 5th lowest goals against in the NHL?
It's so easy to score against us right?
post trading deadline alert:
David LeNeveau
GAA: 1.83 with Hartford
Al Montoya:
GAA: 2.83 with San Antonio
Dude, I didnt say the Rangers wouldn't get through first rd without PP improvement, I said they will need the PP to improve if they are going deep into the Playoffs. You don't win the Cup without superb special teams play. Most of htse late playoff rd games come down to which team wins the special teams battle. So the point is long run in the playoffs = PP improvement.
You know, I was just curious to see how many goals Paul Mara scored on the PP this year. Did anyone realize he has no PP goals this year and only 1 goal on the year?
He has a bit of a booming shot, but he never hits the net, that is Mara's big problem.
they should do a major overhaul of the power play. That means using Prucha as well as Mara.
lol @ major overhaul
no one has answered the question...what have mara and prucha done this year to suggest the PP improves with them on it?...prucha was awesome on the PP...2 seasons ago!..thats when no one in the leauge knew who he was..he is very overrated right now, aswell as mara.
@ TJ:
Prucha really hasnt done anything on the power play since last year. He was great in his rookie year. Mara... well, he has a good shot, and seemed ok with being the quarterback on the PP.
section 314: I know we all called for Backmans head when they first picked him up. He was awful in his first few games, and Im sure you would agree.
AGAIN?! Is Renney a complete retard? There was never any chemistry between Prucha and Callahan and not much with Drury either. They are mainly goalscorers. I've never seen a dumber coach. How quickly he forgot about Dawes-Dubinsky-Prucha line that helped turn the season around.
oooh boy, Boooob put a question mark and an explanation point after the word AGAIN
his feathers must be very ruffled....
I'm just as good or better than Dawes and Calahan and I've proven it in the past. Renny screwed me when we got Shanahan by moving me to the left side and cutting my ice time. I can contribute more than Shanahan or Jagr have in the last 30 games but Renney won't give me a chance. We'll see who gets the last laugh when I'm scoring 30 goals for a division rival.
Does Prucha really speak English that well?
Prucha can't be better than Callahan or Dawes, they were born in 1985! That means they are better eh Rangers Rob!!!
Pittsburgh loses to Isles
Ottawa getting assssses whooped!
good stuff goin on
Can Dude speak English well?
It's EXCLAMATION POINT
right you are! wow, that was pretty bad
I am going to go write exclamation a thousand times on the chalkboard
Re "Sjostrom changed that (fourth) line" - Actually the absence of Hollweg the Human Hippo changed it for the better, call it addition by subtraction, even more. Hollweg would be a disgrace to any AHL team. Greater point is, he does the best he can do with what he has to work with, it is indefensively management's fault for coddling a plug who can't skate and who has no skill other than trying to catch up with faster oppostion skaters along the boards. The entire Hollweg fiasco is pathetic.
And I should have said "indefensibly." Hey, Columbia Univ. Ph.D's are not flocking to this site. "Dude" apparently got his doctorate on the P.S. 165 playground monkey bars.
actually it was P.S. 45
have you realized that we have 4 guys on the roster born 1985+ yet?
Wouldn't Ryan Hollweg be great had he been born in 1985? ahhh, one can only dream.
Ranger Rob
I did; I went there for my advanced degree in History. I received a grant that paid for everything.
LGR!!!