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VANCOUVER, British Columbia — The Rangers’ third line of Alexis Lafreniere, Filip Chytil and Sammy Blais has seen highs and lows in their first handful of games skating together.
After a dominant showing in the Blueshirts’ 3-1 win over the Predators on Oct. 21, the trio declined in production in their next games against the Senators, Blue Jackets and Kraken. Particularly against Seattle, head coach Gerard Gallant wasn’t too pleased with how the third line performed and played it just one shift in the final 9:44.
“Yeah I need to see more from that line, I didn’t like their last game,” Gallant said Tuesday ahead of the Rangers’ matchup with the Canucks. “They got to play a lot better and they will be capable of a lot better than that. They had a tough game I thought the last one, but it’ll be better [Tuesday night].”
Lafreniere has been on the receiving end of the most constructive criticism from Gallant, publicly. The first-year Rangers coach called out Lafrenière after an abysmal 5-1 loss to the Flames on Oct. 25, saying he needed more from him.
Asked if he feels more comfortable playing with Chytil and Blais over the first unit of Mika Zibanejad and Chris Kreider, Lafreniere said he feels the same on both lines.
“It’s just a different line,” said the 20-year-old winger, who had three goals and one assist heading into Tuesday’s game. “I love playing with Blaiser, too. He speaks the same language as me, obviously, so it’s easier a little bit. I feel like I can find him pretty easily on the ice and he can find me, too. We’re just trying to get better as a line and hopefully play some good hockey for the team.”
Lafreniere, Chytil and Blais have logged 37:43 together this season and have been on the ice for eight high-danger chances against, according to Natural Stat Trick.
“We talked about not turning pucks over, that’s a big part of it,” Gallant said of what he needs to see from that line. “Important times of the game, close hockey games, you got to make sure you’re doing the right thing and managing the puck. The effort is always there, they all work and compete. But it’s just about managing the puck and not giving those turnovers.
“When you’re winning 2-1 with five minutes left in the game, you’re putting the guys out that you feel comfortable with, that had a real good game. That’s what happens.”
Ryan Reaves participated in the Rangers’ morning skate Tuesday but was not expected to play against the Canucks. He was technically eligible to come off injured reserve Tuesday, retroactive to when he got hurt on Oct. 25 against Calgary.
Libor Hajek was a healthy scratch for the 10th consecutive game.
“I’m trying to get our team ready to win every night,” Gallant said of the possibility of getting Hajek into a game. “Hajek made our team out of training camp, he’s one of eight defensemen and it’s tough on the guy, but he comes to work every day. He’s in the NHL, he’s a good player, he works hard. But we like our core group that we put out every night.”
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