The Rangers have enjoyed far more continuity in head coach Peter Laviolette's 109 games at the helm than they did in the 320 games he played in the four seasons before coming to New York.
Not only has Laviolette made several intentional lineup changes over the years rather than in response to injuries, but the 59-year-old has also been consistent in deciding whether or not to blow up the line and defense. He has shown self-control. Pairing in poor play.
He preaches overcoming obstacles, giving players a chance to settle in, and taking combinations for a legitimate “test drive” before drawing conclusions.
But after the team got off to a sluggish and stagnant start this month, Laviolette made the boldest change to the top nine since signing on the dotted line to become the 37th head coach in Rangers history.
Laviolette said he's always careful with his ink, but he plans to ride the Rangers' new lineup a little.
“The answer is, I want to,” Laviolette said after practice at the MSG Training Center on Wednesday. “I think the record always gives some sort of direction.” [and comes] For fun. If you're not playing well and the record isn't coming out, how long can you keep doing something and say, “It's not working''? When something is working well, or when you're seeing results and you think there's room for growth, but you're seeing results, you tend to stick with it a little longer.
“I'm not just talking about one loss. We're trying to show a little bit of patience, but the games have to continue as well.”
So for the third straight day after making his debut in the 2-1 win over the Senators, Mika Zibanejad centered Artemi Panarin and Alexis Lafreniere.
Will Quill skated to the left of Vincent Trocheck and Riley Smith, while Chris Kreider lined up to the left of Filip Sitil and Kaapo Kakko.
The “D” pair remained in place for most of Laviolette's tenure with the Rangers, with Adam Fox to the right of Ryan Lindgren and Quandre Miller to the left of Jacob Trouba. Zach Jones and Braden Schneider were the last pairing.
The fact that these new fronts are considered the most dramatic changes Laviolette has made says something about the veteran coach.
It may be different, but upon closer inspection, it's not as extreme as it might first seem.
Reacting hastily to some bad performances or some bad losses has not been Laviolette's style since he took over the Rangers.
Asked directly why now is the time to mix it up, Laviolette countered by pointing out that the two lines have actually only experienced one change.
The changes were necessary despite the Rangers having an 8-2-1 record heading into Thursday night's game against the Sabers at Madison Square Garden.
If anything, this adjustment also served as a message to this Blueshirt team.
Laviolette doesn't do this often, but when he does, there must be a good reason.
Casey Fitzgerald was named captain of the Hartford Wolfpack on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old defenseman was a free agent with the Panthers this offseason and signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Rangers in July.
Anton Breed and Alex Belzile will serve as stand-in captains.
