The lines

It started with penalties. Offensive zone penalties. Lots of them. If I had a statistics department that wasn't me, right now, they'd be compiling numbers to figure out how the Rangers rank against the rest of the league in four different categories: penalty minutes, number of penalties, offensive zone penalty minutes, and number of offensive zone penalties (the latter two not including fights or misconducts). Then they'd provide me with the most impressive-sounding of those stats, and I'd reproduce them for you. Unfortunately, I don't have the time to do that comprehensive research, so I'm trusting my instincts and saying we rank pretty high, and you should just trust that and move on.

After the benchings of Dubinsky and Higgins in Montréal, Tortorella made all the lines go crazy. Sure, Dubinsky hasn't been playing fantastic hockey lately - certainly not hockey that warrants his summer contract fiasco (which I'm sure Torts hasn't forgotten) - but no one really has. So, fine, you bench him, along with Higgins, whose thinking too hard has become an real problem lately. Then, you decide that he's not currently fit to be a first line center. Um, maybe, but, like, we're a dozen games into the season. Maybe let's give him something of a chance to tighten up his game?

Nope. So Prospal moves to center, leaving a space on left wing. Then, why stop there? Callahan hasn't been as hot as he was in the beginning of the season, let's push him down to the third line along with Dubi and Higgins. Or is that the second line now? Wait! We also like Lisin! Let's let him go back to his natural position at left wing, and move Boyle to the wing, and stick Anisimov on the 4th line!

Huh?

Lisin - Prospal - Gaborik
Higgins - Dubinsky - Callahan
Avery - Drury - Kotalik
Brashear - Anisimov - Boyle

These are the lines that beat the Coyotes 5-2 Monday night. I'm not here to tell Tortorella how to do his job. But damned if I don't get this. Yeah, Lisin's been fine, but he can't help but look outclassed on a line with Prospal and Gaborik. Even if you wanna push Dubi off that line, do you really think Lisin looks better there then Sean "get the hell out of vinnie's way now kthx" Avery would? Or maybe Christopher "i could use a scoring spark" Higgins? And what on earth is a line like Higgins - Dubi - Cally gonna do: skate around the ice hitting people off the puck and pass to each other for 5 minutes waiting for one of them to become the sniper? And how do you expect Artem Anisimov to come into his own as a playmaking forward when you give him a right wing with the body of a gorilla and a left wing with the brain of one?

Gaborik and Prospal (the latter of whom I still think deserves an A on his chest) are playing great hockey together. I love it. Drury, too, has been largely fantastic. Everyone else could stand to pick their games back up. In particular, besides the obvious Dubinsky and Higgins, I'd like to see more from Callahan and Avery. These are the guys that aren't the big marquee players, but that tend to be game-changers when they're at the top of theirs.

On defense, the biggest question has been Staal, who has been mediocre at absolute best lately. Yes, Redden has improved somewhat. Yes, Del Zotto score many point. Gilroy will still come into his own as a good defensemen, just give it time. But in the meanwhile, if the Staal-Girardi pair's better half is playing at the level he's been playing at, our average defenseman has dropped to "second or more likely third pair" caliber. This is not good news.

This drop-off in our best defensemen and our game-changing power forwards, along with the offensive zone penalties, explains what's been happening to us: we're losing the neutral zone, in both directions. When we try to break out, our Dubis and Callys should be pushing through people, not getting stripped in the neutral zone. This causes us to overcompensate and take penalties in our zone. When we're trying to keep pressure on, our high men (like Staal) need to be coming in to the puck, not skating past it. This causes us to overcompensate and take offensive zone penalties. Some commentator paraphrased some coach the other day, saying something that sounded like a less well-worded "he who wins the neutral zone shall win the day." I wish I could quote some famous hockey person has having said exactly that, 'cause it would be totally appropriate for us right now.

No idea what tonight's lines will be. Gaborik's definitely out, Parenteau in. Also, Brashear is out again (still think he was an upgrade from Colton Orr?), so I assume we'll see Voros again. Since we brought in Parenteau rather than Grachev, I assume Prospal will stay at center, with Dubi still down on the third (second?) line. But who will he be centering, Parenteau and Lisin?? Maybe Callahan will be back up there? I have no idea. We'll see, in 45 minutes, at the Coliseum. Let's go Rangers!