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K’Andre Miller’s ascension has created a scenario under which Rangers coach Gerard Gallant is equally comfortable with using either the Ryan Lindgren-Adam Fox duo or the Miller-Jacob Trouba tandem as his matchup defense pair against the opposition’s top guns.
That means against the unit on which Alex Ovechkin skates when the Capitals come to the Garden on Thursday.
“They’re interchangeable, that’s a perfect word,” head coach Gerard Gallant said. “You can play either against the first or second line and it doesn’t matter.
“It depends on the night, who’s playing well, and maybe a little bit on size and physicality. But for the most part, they’re interchangeable … and that’s what we want our third pair to be, too, with [Braden] Schneider coming, a young kid, but that’s what you’d love to see, not worrying about who’s on the ice against the top lines.
“It’s coming. It’s obviously not there, but there are steps going in the right direction. That’s the goal, and it’s a goal for every team, but it would be a huge thing for us.”
Patrik Nemeth, who had missed seven straight games while it was believed he was dealing with aftereffects from a late December COVID-19 infection, has reclaimed his spot on the third pair across from Schneider after returning to the lineup on Sunday at Ottawa. Zac Jones has returned to the AHL Wolf Pack after getting into five matches this time around.
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“He played hard, he was good, he looked quick and has been really good in practice,” Gallant said of Nemeth. “We were happy with his game.
“And again, Jonesy is a young player we really liked in all the games he played but we really don’t want somebody sitting in the stands. We want him to play some games down there and if we have to bring him back up, we’ll bring him back up with no issues.”
Gallant may have dropped a hint about Thursday’s lineup. When asked whether the same concept about not sitting applies to Morgan Barron, who has been a scratch the past three games, the coach said, “We always want to get those kids games, but I think you’re going to see Barron sooner than later.”
Barron, who has played in nine NHL games thus far this season, has been skating the last two days on a four-man unit with Greg McKegg, Filip Chytil and Julien Gauthier.
McKegg has played in the Rangers’ last 22 games after rejoining the lineup on Dec. 15 following a 17-game absence that included a stint in Hartford, a stay on the COVID-19 list, and nine healthy scratches. Gauthier was last scratched on Jan. 21 in Carolina.
The Blueshirts have allowed two goals or fewer in five straight (not counting shootouts), surrendering a sum of eight goals while going 4-1 through that stretch.
Igor Shesterkin, in line for his career-high seventh straight start, has gone 11-1-1 in his last 13 games dating back to Dec. 31 with a .946 save percentage and 1.81 goals-against average over that span.
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