Gerard Gallant's line changes pay off for Rangers against Isles
New York Rangers right wing Julien Gauthier is congratulated by teammates after his goal against the New York Islanders in the second period of an NHL hockey game at Madison Square Garden on Thursday, Dec. 22, 2022. Credit: Kathleen Malone-Van Dyke
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant had left his forward lines mostly intact for the previous four games, but during the second period of Thursday night’s 5-3 win over the Islanders at Madison Square Garden, he moved the pieces around.
Gallant moved Barclay Goodrow off the first line (with Mika Zibanejad and Artemi Panarin) and onto the fourth line (with Jonny Brodzinski and Julian Gauthier). Rookie Vitali Kravtsov moved up to take Goodrow’s spot on the top line.
“Their so-called fourth line, it’s better than a fourth line, and I just thought Goodrow would be better with our matchup for that line than the other guys,’’ Gallant said. “And once they started playing, I thought Brodzinski’s line was our best line. They were outstanding. They did a great job, and every time Goodrow plays with somebody, he makes the line look good.’’
The fourth line produced two goals — Goodrow’s deflection of a shot by Gauthier at 3:00 of the third period tied the score at 3-3 and Gauthier, who had been scratched the two previous games, scored his fifth goal of the season in the second period to tie the score at 2-2.
Reinserting Gauthier was the only change Gallant made to the lineup from the group he used Tuesday in Pittsburgh. Forward Sammy Blais was scratched to make room for Gauthier.
Harpur gets another start
Defenseman Ben Harpur stayed in the lineup for the fifth consecutive game since entering on Dec. 15 in place of Libor Hajek. Hajek was scratched for the fifth straight game. Harpur, 27, had no points and no penalty minutes in his first four games.
Four-day Christmas break
With no game Friday, the Rangers got an extra day on their Christmas break. They are off for four days and will return Tuesday against Washington at the Garden.
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.
