The Rangers are making another adjustment as they get ready to face the St. Louis Blues, and Jaroslav Chmelar is back in the mix.
New York recalled Chmelar from the Hartford Wolf Pack and sent Taylor Raddysh to Hartford, another move in a stretch where the team is clearly trying to find a different look. The Rangers have dropped four straight and have lost six of their last seven, so the lineup changes have come fast.
The shake-up comes while the club is trying to manage life without Igor Shesterkin. The goaltending depth has been tested with Joonas Korpisalo still out, and Dylan Garand has been carrying a heavy load. That workload has been a lot to ask of the 24-year-old, and the Rangers are now searching for anything that can help them break out of the skid.
Practice offered a preview of how different things could look on Tuesday. The lines were shuffled significantly, and the fourth line in particular got a new shape.
Noah Laba was in at center, with Joe Veleno’s injury continuing to affect the group and leave the middle of that line in flux. That spot has been a weak point for the Rangers, and the uncertainty there has become a real issue.
Laba’s struggles on the third line also pushed Will Cuylle to change positions in an effort to give the team a spark.
Chmelar’s return raises the possibility of a fourth line built around size, especially if he joins Matt Rempe on the wings with Laba between them. In practice, Rempe was with Raddysh, so that exact combination could still change by game time against the Blues.
Chmelar has not recorded a point for New York this season, but he’ll get another chance to make an impact after his brief stay in the AHL.
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Chmelas path back has been a little uneven, with a slow start to the season giving way to better play in the AHL before this recall. For the Rangers, the bet is clear enough: if the third line is going to settle in, it may have to do so with youth taking on a bigger role, even as the team keeps sorting through who belongs where on the wings. [Read more 🡒]
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Dylan Garand has been handed the crease in the meantime, giving the Rangers a new variable to manage while they search for answers elsewhere in the lineup. His first start offered a needed lift, but the larger question remains whether New York can tighten up enough defensively to keep this stretch from turning into something much harder to recover from. [Read more 🡒]
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Perreaults appeal has always been tied to his vision and hockey IQ, traits that can help a power play breathe a little easier when the puck movement gets stale. Sullivan and Miller both have acknowledged the need for a change, and now the Rangers are hoping this adjustment can get a sluggish advantage back on track before the problem becomes even harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]