Rangers general manager Glen Sather has decided action, not hope, is the best way to try to turn his team’s season around.
With patience being an unrealistic luxury in this lockout-shortened campaign, Sather not only shuffled his lineup yesterday, but made a declaration that if the players he has aren’t going to change things on their own, he’ll change it for them.
Sather traded veteran forward Mike Rupp to the Wild in exchange for penalty-kill specialist Darroll Powe and former part-time Devil Nick Palmieri. Powe, 27, is a more versatile player than Rupp, as he led the Wild last season in average time on ice shorthanded (2:27 per game) and finished second among NHL forwards in blocked shots (91).
Powe is expected to play tonight against the Devils in Newark, while Palmieri was sent to the Connecticut Whale (AHL).
In what could be an even more impactful move, Sather also decided it’s time to give his 2011 first-round pick, J.T. Miller, his first cup of coffee in the NHL and see if he can stick. Miller, 19, was recalled from the Whale, along with bruising forward Brandon Mashinter. To make room, Benn Ferriero, who had played the previous four games after being acquired in a trade with the Penguins, was sent down.
Miller was outstanding for the United States in winning the gold medal at the World Junior Championships in early January. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound center out of East Palestine, Ohio, had nine points in seven games, and in 37 games with the Whale, he had eight goals and 12 assists, becoming the youngest player at the AHL All-Star game.
What it all adds up to is the fact the Rangers (4-4-0) are going to incorporate three new bodies into a group of forwards that has been top-heavy most of the early season, relying on the line of Rick Nash-Brad Richards-Marian Gaborik to do the scoring. The second line of Taylor Pyatt-Derek Stepan-Carl Hagelin had a breakout night Saturday in Tampa, getting goals from Stepan and Hagelin and two assists from Pyatt.
“It’s only been one game,” Pyatt said, “but we’re definitely going to try and build off it. From game to game, lines change, so I’m just trying to enjoy the chemistry while we have it.”
So now the test will be consistency.
“It’s always good to have a supporting cast,” Gaborik said. “That’s what we need to get is some secondary scoring to produce.”
No question, two big parts of that supporting cast are still hobbled, with captain Ryan Callahan (shoulder) and rookie Chris Kreider (ankle) both inching closer to being able to play. Callahan said he’s around “seven to 10 days” away, and Kreider is still technically day-to-day.
Yet coach John Tortorella is not about to concede Kreider a roster spot when he is finally ready. When asked yesterday if Kreider were guaranteed to play once he’s healthy, Tortorella said, “No. I’m not sure what the lineup’s going to be, him and other people.”
Well, now those other people have changed, and with them changes Tortorella’s responsibilities. He no longer has to sparingly play defenseman Stu Bickel up front, and his struggling penalty kill — ranked 19th in the league (78.4 percent) — should get a boost from Powe and regain some of its prowess from last season.
Sather has given the coach some new people to work with, and now it’s a question of if those new people can change was has been a disappointing start.