The tipping point came last Thursday at the Coliseum, when coach John Tortorella made a handful of dramatic lineup changes for the back end of a home-and-home with the Islanders a day after a desultory effort at home had produced a 2-1 defeat.
Wade Redden and Ales Kotalik (and their combined $9.5 million cap hit) were removed from the lineup as healthy scratches.
But perhaps even more noteworthy because of the player involved, Chris Drury, the captain, was assigned the role of fourth-line center following weeks of limited production and effectiveness as either the second- or third-line pivot.
Drury broke a 19-game scoreless drought by going to the net to bury a rebound in that one. He scored again the following game, Saturday in Philadelphia. And elevated to the third line between Sean Avery and Enver Lisin beginning Monday in Carolina, Drury scored again in last night’s 4-1 Garden triumph over the Panthers while getting 19:15 of ice to lead Rangers forwards.
“I don’t know if I looked at [being assigned to the fourth line] as a challenge, because I challenge myself every day when I come to the rink,” Drury told The Post last night. “It’s like I said after the Islander game on Thursday, that the biggest thing for me is to do less and not run all over the place trying to accomplish two or three things at once.
“I just have to take care of my quadrant, I guess is the best way to put it, and not chase the puck.”
It was suggested to Drury — Big Moment Chris — that the demotion that followed a meeting with Tortorella must have been a blow to his ego. But the captain dismissed that notion.
“Hopefully I don’t have an ego in that sense. I never come to the rink thinking I’m better than anyone else,” Drury told The Post. “What kind of a teammate would I be if I had reacted with, ‘Oh [expletive deleted], what am I doing on the fourth line?’ What would that say to Brash [Donald Brashear] and Brian Boyle, who are usually on the fourth line?
“For me to react negatively to being given that assignment would be disrespectful to the team, to my teammates, and specifically to the guys who play that role every night. It would show up guys like Brash and Brian.
“Whatever I’m asked to do, I try and do to the best of my ability, whatever it is.”
If fans wonder why Drury is so well respected not only by his teammates, but also throughout the league even in a year where his production (5 goals, eight assists, 13 points) is so far down, these words should be explanation enough.
Vinny Prospal, who broke a 14-game scoreless streak with a pair last night, certainly took notice of Tortorella’s machinations.
“We had a meeting after the [first] Islander game in which it was said that either things would change or there would be changes in the locker room,” Prospal said. “I’ve seen it before where guys are benched. With Torts, it doesn’t matter who you are, you always know where you stand with him.
“If you don’t step up, you could be out of the lineup or gone. It’s not personal with Torts. It’s business.”
Marian Gaborik, who got his league-leading 26th goal in the Blueshirts’ 37th match, is two goals ahead of the pace set by Jaromir Jagr in 2005-06 when he established the club record of 54 goals. Gaborik, who had seven shots on goal, has 30 shots in his last six games.
Sean Avery, on the ice for another Rangers’ even-strength goal scored — now on for nine of the club’s 16 at even-strength in the last 11 games — was involved in a series of post-whistle scrums.