Colin Stephenson: Rangers trying to find more ice time for Oliver Bjorkstrand
Rangers' Oliver Bjorkstrand celebrates his second-period goal against the Anaheim Ducks at Madison Square Garden on Monday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
After scoring two goals Tuesday in the Rangers’ win over Anaheim, Oliver Bjorkstrand was willing to admit that yes, getting dropped to the fourth line in the third game of the season hurt his pride.
“Everybody wants to play, and play as high up [in the lineup] as possible,” Bjorkstrand said that night. “So, I mean, I don’t know. You use that as your motivation, and obviously you always want to get out there more. But what you get in front of you, you try to do the best with it. And obviously my job is to go out there with the right [attitude] and find a way to have an impact with whatever minutes I get . . . You can’t be pouting and all that stuff. Use it as motivation to want to get out there more.”
Bjorkstrand followed that two-goal performance with another goal in Thursday’s last-minute loss to the Maple Leafs in Toronto. He entered Saturday’s game in Ottawa with five goals, second-most on the Rangers behind Alexis Lafreniere’s eight.
He’s done that despite averaging only 10 minutes, 38 seconds per game this season, well below his career average of 15:21. His season average was puffed up by coach Mike Sullivan feeding him ice time in the third period Tuesday, trying to get him a hat trick (he played 12:08 in that game).
Bjorkstrand, 31, is a six-time 20-goal scorer whom the Rangers signed to a one-year, $4.5 million contract as a free agent during the summer. Sullivan has said he wants to play him more, but the way the forward lines currently are configured, it’s been difficult to figure out how to do that.
The top three lines — Gabe Perreault-Mika Zibanejad-Lafreniere, Tye Kartye-J.T. Miller-Pavel Dorofeyev and Will Cuylle-Noah Laba-Eeli Tolvanen — have meshed in a way Sullivan likes. So for now, Bjorkstrand is stuck playing fourth-line minutes.
“I’ve had discussions with Ollie about trying to find ways to get him on the ice a little bit more,” Sullivan said on Oct. 14. “Different ways to get Ollie more minutes would be, coming off penalty kills. Let’s say we’re utilizing guys like Ty Kartye [on the penalty kill]. Maybe Ollie can get a shift with J.T.’s line . . . and we can get Ollie a few more minutes there.”
With the Rangers down a goal and pressing for an equalizer on Thursday in Toronto, Sullivan sent Bjorkstrand out for a couple of shifts with Cuylle and Laba in the third period. The coach has said he believes Bjorkstrand, who can play left or right wing, will move around the lineup in the course of the season. That kind of versatility — plus goal-scoring ability — will come in handy if there’s an injury within the top three forward lines.
For now, though, Bjorkstrand remains on the fourth line (and on the second power-play unit), while Sullivan said he is “trying to figure out ways to keep Ollie engaged in the game.”
Bjorkstrand promised to be ready whenever he’s called upon.
“It’s up to me just to be ready,’’ he said. “When I get out there, I’ve got to put in my minutes and do what I can do. And if it’s a goal, it’s a goal. If it’s a hard minute, then that’s what it is.
“That’s what I can focus on and control.”
Old pro Glendening
The Rangers were lacking in depth at the center position even before fourth-line center Joe Veleno went down with a lower-body injury nearly three weeks ago. With Veleno, who was a relied-upon penalty-killer, out until sometime in January at the earliest, they had to find a replacement. They brought in Luke Glendening this past week on a professional tryout and signed him to a one-year, $850,000 deal on Thursday.
“I’m just thankful for the opportunity,’’ Glendening, a 13-year veteran, said after practice Wednesday. “Trying to go and earn a job every day and just taking it minute by minute.”
Glendening, 37, played for the Devils and Flyers last season and was a contributor on a Flyers team that rallied to make the playoffs and won a first-round series against the Penguins. He had two goals and three assists and was a plus-4 in 18 regular-season games for the Flyers and had a goal and a plus-3 rating in 10 playoff games.
“What am I as a player? I’m a worker, I can skate, be physical, win faceoffs [55.6% for his career], penalty kill,” Glendening said. “Not a highlight-reel player, that’s for sure.
“I know what I am as a player, but I’ll just come and bring what I can bring. And if it works, it would be awesome.”
Panarin coming to town
The Rangers return home Monday for a game against old friend Artemi Panarin and the Kings. They’re 6-0 at home this season, their second-best start ever.
They were 8-0-0 to start the 1990-91 season. That team was coached by Roger Neilson, captained by Kelly Kisio and led in scoring by Brian Leetch, who had 88 points (16 goals, 72 assists) in 80 games. It finished 36-31-13, good for 85 points and second place in the Patrick Division.
Colin Stephenson covers the Rangers for Newsday. He has spent more than two decades covering the NHL and just about every sports team in the New York metropolitan area.
