NHL

Rangers don’t alter lines for Game 5

LOS ANGELES — During Thursday’s practice at Staples Center ahead of Game 5 of these Stanley Cup finals, the Rangers ran out the same line combinations they used during their season-saving 2-1 win over the Kings in Game 4 Wednesday night at the Garden.

That meant Dominic Moore remained between Martin St. Louis and Chris Kreider, Derek Stepan centered Rick Nash and Carl Hagelin, Derick Brassard was between Mats Zuccarello and Benoit Pouliot and, most notably, Brad Richards remained on the fourth line with Brian Boyle and Derek Dorsett.

So, will things stay the same when the Rangers and Kings take the ice for Game 5?

“You know, for half of the game I was pretty pleased with how, at both ends of the rink, we were able to defend and generate some good chances,” Rangers coach Alain Vigneault said after practice. “The second half of the game, I thought they had a strong push, [and] our goaltender permitted us to hang on and find a way to win that game.

“If there are enough positive signs from that game for me to not make any other changes,” Vigneault added with a smile, “stay tuned tomorrow at [the start of the game Friday] and find out.”

The players themselves, however, didn’t seem too concerned about the new combinations.

“I think just when you lose three in a row you look to switch something up,” said Nash, who had previously played with Stepan and Kreider. “I played all year with Kreider, he’s a great player, he’s got all the skills … but I think when you lose, you try to switch things up.”


Derek Stepan said he lost some weight in the aftermath of his surgery to repair a broken jaw he suffered on a high hit from former teammate Brandon Prust in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final.

“Yeah, I lost a little bit of weight immediately after the surgery,” said Stepan, who missed one game because of the injury and has been wearing a protective shield to protect his jaw since. “But like I said, I’m getting myself in a routine of trying to get it back, and trying to get back to where I normally am.”

When Stepan was asked how much weight he’d lost, however, he wasn’t as forthcoming.
“I’m not going to tell you,” he said.


The only player who didn’t appear to be on the ice during practice was backup goaltender Cam Talbot, who remained out with a “hockey-related” injury. David LeNeveu is expected to be Henrik Lundqvist’s backup for a fifth straight game Friday night.