Rangers' Vitali Kravtsov plays in place of Sammy Blais
Vitali Kravtsov #74 of the Rangers skates during the first period against the Columbus Blue Jackets at Madison Square Garden on Sunday, Oct. 23, 2022 in New York City. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Rangers coach Gerard Gallant pulled a surprise when he changed his lineup to insert rookie forward Vitali Kravtsov for the first time in four games.
“You want him playing, definitely, there's no doubt,’’ Gallant said of Kravtsov, who appeared in his 11th game of the season. “You know, he's worked hard in practice, he's done the right thing. So, give him an opportunity.’’
Kravtsov took the lineup spot of Sammy Blais, who was a healthy scratch for the first time all season. Blais had played in 27 straight games after missing the first three with an upper-body injury. He had five assists and no goals.
Rather than tweaking his lines to accommodate Kravtsov, who had been playing on Artemi Panarin’s line before being scratched for the previous three games, Gallant inserted Kravtsov, a natural right wing, into Blais’ spot at left wing on the fourth line, and also had him take Blais’ spot on the power play’s second unit.
Kravtsov ended up playing 11:44 and had one shot on goal.
Beside putting Kravtsov in, Gallant made one other change in his lineup, inserting defenseman Ben Harpur in place of Libor Hajek. Harpur, 27, had been called up from AHL Hartford on Dec. 3, to replace Zac Jones, who’d been sent down. And Harpur had served the role of the seventh defenseman, sitting out five straight games before getting in.
“Not a lot,’’ Gallant said when asked what he knew about Harpur.
“I mean, he played in the league, obviously, and he's a big guy [6-6, 231],’’ Gallant said. “He's looked really good in practice. He moves the puck. He's skating. And you know, he deserves an opportunity. He played well down in Hartford.’’
Gallant said it was always the plan with Harpur, who played 53 games with Nashville the last two seasons before signing with the Rangers this offseason, to have him practice with the team for a while before giving him a game.
Harpur partnered with Braden Schneider and played 12:26 and was credited with three hits and two blocked shots.
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.
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