TAMPA, Fla. — John Tortorella said there was nothing to read into his defense pairings at Rangers practice here yesterday that featured Michal Rozsival skating with injured winger Vinny Prospal while Michael Del Zotto worked with Steve Eminger.
Indeed, the coach said Rozsival would be in the lineup for tonight’s match against the Lightning, while also saying he hadn’t yet decided whether to reinstate Del Zotto, who has been out the last three games — from which he would have been a scratch regardless of the flu he contracted before Christmas — and the sore groin he came up with early this week.
It is, however, impossible not to interpret the practice combinations as, at the very least, a message from the coach to Rozsival, whose game has been slipping the last few weeks following a strong start, and dramatically so over the last handful of games.
Rozsival has not dipped to the point where he was early last season, but he has been passive, his reads and coverage have been wanting, and he has committed far too many unforced turnovers. That includes the match in Newark on Wednesday in which every defenseman had issues coping with the Devils’ aggressive forecheck.
“I’m not sure yet about [Del Zotto], but if he’s not in, it’s not to continue to send a message, it’s how the other six are playing right now,” Tortorella said before issuing an obvious disclaimer relating to lineup decisions.
“It’s like a bank account. Some people have bigger bank accounts because of their body of work, and I’ll live with someone like that who’s had a bad game because of my feeling of what they can do.
“I think that Rozy, from the first time I started coaching him, his game has gone to the next level where it needs to be. But of late, no.”
Translation: Rozsival has yet to use up the credit line he increased the second half of last season and through the first couple of months this year, but at the same time, bank management, in the form of the head coach, is reviewing matters.
The Rangers could use strength on the back end in light of the fluidity up front following recent injuries to Ryan Callahan, Erik Christensen and Derek Boogaard, the demotion of Todd White, and the promotions of Mats Zuccarello and Dale Weise.
The flux in personnel leaves the Rangers with a second line featuring Artem Anisimov between Alex Frolov and Mats Zuccarello and a fourth line with Chris Drury back in the middle between Weise and Sean Avery. Of course, the Brian Boyle-Brandon Prust-Ruslan Fedotenko unit is probably the true second unit at this point.
Zuccarello has neither proved he does or does not belong in his three NHL games, but with limited options available to management, the winger isn’t going anywhere at the moment.
“His lack of time [7:36] against Jersey and moving him away from [Derek Stepan and Marian Gaborik] wasn’t because of anything bad he did, but because there was just nothing going on for us as a team,” Tortorella said. “I think that going back to Dubinsky-Stepan-Gaborik re-sets Gabby, too.”
Yesterday suggests that the coach is seeking to re-set Rozsival, as well.
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Henrik Lundqvist will play tonight and Marty Biron likely will get the start tomorrow night against Florida. . . Tortorella is in favor of the Rangers hosting the Winter Classic. “I would love it,” he said. “I think it would be great for New York City.”