The New York Rangers didn’t have much room for error at center entering the season, and that problem got sharper when Joe Veleno went down in their fourth game against the Utah Mammoth.
Veleno’s lower-body injury was serious enough to land him on IR, and with the center depth already thin, the Rangers had to make a move. They brought up one of their top prospects, Cole Beaudoin, from the Hartford Wolf Pack in the AHL and inserted him into the lineup right away.
Beaudoin’s NHL debut came in a rivalry game against the New York Islanders, and the Rangers didn’t stop there. They shuffled the lines, sliding veteran Oliver Bjorkstrand down to the fourth line and moving Tye Kartye up to the second.
The adjustment paid off quickly. With Bjorkstrand and Chmelar on the wings and Beaudoin in the middle, that new-look fourth line looked sharp in its first run together against the Islanders. When the trio was on the ice, New York outshot the Islanders 7-3.
Head coach Mike Sullivan pointed to Bjorkstrand’s ability to adapt to the change.
“I would imagine throughout the rest of the season he’s [Bjorkstrand] probably a guy we’re going to move around because he’s fairly versatile,” Sullivan said, via Peter Baugh of The Athletic (subscription required). “He may go up and down lines depending on what the needs are at the time.”
The fourth line hasn’t been locked into one look, either. Some nights it includes Matt Rempe, who played on opening night against the Boston Bruins in a 3-0 loss but has been bumped aside by Chmelar in the four games since, all Rangers wins.
However the pieces are arranged, the Rangers have to like what they’ve gotten from the group so far. Losing Veleno hurt because of the speed, defensive steadiness and physical edge he brings, but at least for one night, New York handled the absence.
Bjorkstrand was a big reason why. He already has six 20-plus goal seasons on his résumé, and he scored his first two goals of the year against the Islanders, beating Semyon Varlamov for the first and third Rangers goals in the game.
That kind of finishing touch gives New York something useful no matter where Bjorkstrand lines up.
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Adam Fox is also part of why the blue line feels less overtaxed, with the Rangers able to spread responsibility more evenly across the defense corps. The improved structure has taken some pressure off the top pair and given New York a better defensive rhythm overall, which is exactly what the team was hoping to find when it reshaped the unit this summer. The real question now is whether that early stability can hold once the schedule stiffens and the minutes get heavier. [Read more 🡒]