WASHINGTON – They’re off today, but when the Rangers return to the practice rink tomorrow to open what in essence will be a four-day mini-camp preceding their next match on Saturday, the team will be charged with building off this weekend’s work ethic while Tom Renney will work on implementing changes within the current structure.
“I think this weekend gives us reason to believe that we can battle with anybody relatively well when we play within our system,” the head coach said following yesterday’s 3-2 overtime defeat here to the Capitals. “At the same time, there are adaptations that can be made to help our confidence.”
There are adaptations that can be made to improve the power play while contemplating a major deal for a PP quarterback like Tampa Bay’s Dan Boyle. The week should allow Renney the time to move Marc Staal onto a point in place of Fedor Tyutin, who has struggled for much of the last four weeks – not that he has been getting enough aid from curiously flatlining partner Dan Girardi.
The week also will give Renney ample time to consider how to reincorporate Brendan Shanahan into the lineup and what to do with his defense pairings now that Marek Malik is healthy enough to go.
Marcel Hossa, out the last three weeks with back problems, will be ready to return, as well. Renney no doubt will ponder reorganizing the lines yet again by reuniting the big-bodied winger with Jaromir Jagr, who yesterday endured his ninth straight game without a goal (and seventh straight without a point) despite his best efforts.
It also will give the coach the chance to review whether the Blair Betts-Ryan Hollweg-Colton Orr unit should be the team’s third line, which is what it has evolved into over the last week, and how to get Scott Gomez more touches.
The Rangers did compete admirably yesterday. They put pucks to the net, at least at even-strength. They battled along the boards and in front of Steve Valiquette, who had another impressive outing in starting back-to-back games for the first time in his NHL career.
Still, they could not pull off the sweep and lost a point in the standings to the Caps. They were 0-for-6 over 12:00 with the man advantage, with problems at both ends of the rink. And they allowed two PPG’s while short three times, including Mike Green’s four-on-three winner at 00:23 of OT after the defenseman had drawn a Hollweg tripping penalty at 19:26 of the third.
“I thought he went down a little bit easy and that they were looking to call one on us,” Hollweg said. “I went out there with good intentions . . . but it’s hockey . . . things happen.”
If Shanahan and Hossa return, that could affect the status of Petr Prucha, who had played under 10:00 in three of the five previous games before sustaining an early second-period shoulder injury yesterday that knocked him out of the match.
It would likely impact Ryan Callahan, who has gained a spot on the penalty-kill unit and who got 10 shifts double-shifting in the third while Gomez had six turns.
And Hollweg? Should he be on the ice in the last minute of the second period in what was a 2-1 game that the Caps tied at 19:45, and then again in the final minute of regulation in a tie game?
Renney has five days to answer that question, among others.
OVERTIME Capitals 3 Rangers 2