With only one more full day of practice remaining before the regular season kicks off on Friday, head coach John Tortorella must have an idea as to what his opening night lineup will look like. For today, I will take a deep look into the Rangers offense, and express my feelings of who should be playing with who. Tomorrow, I will provide my analysis concerning the defense, but for today, we take a glance at the forwards.
The following are the lines that Tortorella has been running in practice for the past two days, so I will use this as a starting point and then go from there.
Vinny Prospal-Brandon Dubinsky-Marian Gaborik
Christopher Higgins-Chris Drury-Ryan Callahan
Enver Lisin-Artem Anisimov-Ales Kotalik
Donald Brashear-Brian Boyle-Aaron Voros
Scratch: Sean Avery (Right Knee)
Starting with the first line, I really feel that Gaborik and Vinny Prospal have displayed some chemistry together in the pre-season, and we have seen Tortorella place them on the same line in several instances. Prospal's passing abilities and vision are under-rated, and he has impressed many with his play-making ways. Basically, that is all Gaborik needs, that one person that he know will always be looking to make the pass to him, and Prospal has been successful in that role so far. Originally, Chris Higgins was playing opposite Gaborik as a part of that primary trio, but nothing seemed to click, and I honestly did not like Higgins's play while on that line, so to start, I would keep Prospal there. Keep in mind that Vinny has experience when it comes to playing with highly skilled players, as Torts had Prospal play with Lecavalier and Martin St. Louis quite often in his Tampa days, and they were one of the most productive lines in all of hockey at the time.
As for the center position on the first line, I see Dubinsky as being the supreme option right now. For a player that missed a good week's worth of training camp, Brandon has skated extremely well, and looks considerably sharp out there. With Prospal being the ideal playmaker on the line, that leaves Dubinsky to be a bit more focused on taking the shot, rather than making the pass. When returning to the Blueshirts, Dubi admitted to passing up too many shots for his liking last season, so this scenario presents him with the perfect opportunity to focus on the shot. With that said, I have no problems with the first line that Torts has created in practice, and I would expect to see these three open up in Pittsburgh, unless a change is made tomorrow in practice, which is doubtful.
The remainder of the lineup is tough, because we know when Avery returns from his injury, the lines will be altered, but I will do my best. I definitely feel that Callahan should be on the second line over Kotalik, so that is my choice for the RW spot,and for center, I would have Drury penciled in, just as Torts does. For Left Wing, however, I would try Enver Lisin on the line, instead of Christopher Higgins for two reasons. The first being that Drury is not a "quick" skater, so having two wingers who can turn it on when need be is always good. The second reason is because of Lisin's lack of intelligence in the defensive zone. What I am trying to say is, Chris Drury and Ryan Callahan are two of the top back-checkers this roster holds, so if Lisin doesn't have a clue as to what he should be doing in his own zone, as Torts puts it, he will not stand out as much as if he was playing with Kotalik, or Higgins, who are not as reliable on the back-check or in their own zone as Dru and Cally are.
The combination makes sense, and if I were the head coach, I would try the three together without question. You never know the chemistry that can form between players, so the line has a chance at being this team's second line long term, but only time will tell that.
With Lisin on the second line, my third line would leave Artem Anisimov centering Higgins and Kotalik. Another player who's playmaking abilities go under the radar are Anisimov's. The kid knows how to make passes, and he also knows how to finish. Kotalik is a pure shooter, as exhibited in the pre-season, which means eight out of ten times in which Artem feeds Kotalik, Ales will let his laser go, whether it be a wrister or a slap shot. Higgins, on the other hand, is very good around the net, where Anisimov likes to take the puck. Higgins, in essence, can be the garbage man on this line, cleaning up the rebounds from Anisimov/ Kotalik shots, but at the same time, has the hands to finish a goal when the puck is put on his blade, which Anisimov will look to do if the lane is open.
I like the looks of the line and what their potential is, but once Avery returns, there is a good chance that we see Anisimov drop to the fourth line, as Tortorella has indicated.
Speaking of the fourth line, Boyle, Brashear, and Voros have been the most consistent of the Rangers offense in the pre-season. I like the way they all use the body to protect the puck on the forecheck and get it to the net. Voros also holds a fairly nice shot, which will add to the offense on that line, but remember, once Aves returns, plan on seeing Anismimov then being the center of this line, and saying good-bye to Brian Boyle, who will most likely go down to Hartford. Having AA on the line undoubtedly brings speed and skill to the line.
All in all, my opening offensive lineup would look like this (assuming Avery does not play):
Prospal-Dubinsky-Gaborik
Lisin-Drury-Callahan
Higgins-Anisimov-Kotalik
Brashear-Boyle-Voros
I am well aware that the argument of lines for a particular hockey club can go on and on, but to start, this would be my choice for the offense. Again, I will be doing something similar tomorrow for the defense, which is an intriguing story, as Alexei Semenov still does not have a contract, implying that the Ranger Brass is testing the waiver wire.
(Image courtesy of AP Photo)
