WASHINGTON — Though Brian Boyle returned to the lineup after sitting out Friday night’s match against the Senators as a healthy scratch, his hold on a spot seemed rather tenuous.
Until, that is, the big man scored his first goal of the season midway through the second period break a 1-1 draw here Sunday afternoon in the Rangers’ 4-1 victory over the Capitals.
Or, perhaps, it remains a game-by-game matter despite Boyle’s strong game being rewarded with the goal.
“Brian knows where he stands,” coach John Tortorella said before the Blueshirts’ fifth victory in their last six games. “As always, players make the decisions on how much they play and all that [by their performance].
“He has to play better, period. He’s been better on faceoffs but winning faceoffs certainly isn’t going to merit him being in other situations. I hope he can be better, because that makes us a better team, but J.T. Miller has outplayed him.
“I’m not crazy about playing J.T. in the middle,” Tortorella continued, “but he’s been better and better there, and there comes a time where you have to go through your lineup and roles, and you’ve got to figure out who’s going to be where.”
Tortorella said that is looking for more grind from his team, but that that specific attribute wouldn’t necessarily have to be provided by a line centered by Boyle, who did play on a unit with Brandon Prust (and often Ruslan Fedotenko) the last couple of years that filled that role.
“I’d like to get more grind, but I don’t think it specifically needs to be from that group,” the coach said. “Quite honestly, the way Miller keeps growing—I keep waiting for something to go wrong, but not so much “wrong” but I’m watching him very closely because I don’t want to screw up his development—it’s almost where I’m looking for someone to play with him and create offense with him because he has created offense for us.”
Miller—who has had chances but hasn’t scored in 14 games since getting his first two NHL goals against the Islanders on Feb. 7—was flanked again yesterday at the start by Darroll Powe, who hadn’t scored in 21 games this year, and Taylor Pyatt, who had scored once in his last 20 games. Boyle opened centering a fourth line between Micheal Haley and Jeff Halpern.
But in the second, Boyle had moved up to the third line with Miller—who shifted to the right—and Pyatt. Powe moved to the fourth line with Halpern and Haley.
The Rangers had trouble generating any momentum through the first 10 minutes of the first period while the Caps owned a significant territorial advantage.
Washington grabbed a 1-0 edge at 2:16 when Steve Olesky’s drive from the right point eluded Marty Biron to the far, stick side. Biron, making his fourth start of the season and first in seven games, appeared to be hit in the mask by the stick of the Caps’ Joel Ward while the shot was on the way.
The Rangers tied the score at 11:31 when Derek Stepan completed a three-on-two by cutting wide on the left and then going behind the net before banking a backhand in off goaltender Braden Holtby’s skate.
Stepan had taken a feed from Marian Gaborik in the zone on the rush led by Ryan McDonagh. It marked the first time in the Rangers’ last seven goals and second in the last 11 that the club had scored without Rick Nash on the ice.
After being outshot 7-2 through the first 10:56, the Blueshirts outshot the Caps 10-1 the remainder of the period.
Boyle’s goal on a big shot from the top of the left circle through a screen gave the Blueshirts a 2-1 lead at 10:53 of the second came during a delayed penalty call against the Caps for an Alex Ovechkin trip on Ryan Callahan.
But when the Washington winger also was cited for Ryan McDonagh, the Rangers were awarded a power play even after Boyle’s goal.
The Blueshirts capitalized, with Callahan deflecting Nash’s right circle drive past Holtby at 11:34, thus driving the netminder from the match as he was pulled in favor of Michal Neuvirth.
The specialty teams remained keen for the Rangers, who killed a 31-second two-man disadvantage late in the period –a big stop by Biron on Ward at the left doorstep — before snuffing the back end 5-on-4 as well early in the third.
Brad Richards buried a rebound to complete the scoring with 1:12 remaining in the match.