The New York Rangers Are Rolling

Added by Dante Vassallo on November 13, 2011.

The New York Rangers have extended their winning streak to six games after their third period annihilation of the Carolina Hurricanes Friday night.  Now they will have to try to keep the momentum rolling as they head into a week where they play only two games-Tuesday against the NY Islanders and Saturday against the Montreal Canadiens.

Winning streak aside, one of the biggest moments of this young season came at 10:56 of the third period.  That is when fan favorite forward, Brandon Dubinsky scored his first goal of the season on a rebound created by a shot from Ryan Callahan.  The Garden crowd went wild as Dubinsky raised his arms and looked to the Heavens in relief. Minutes later, Dubinsky was a beast along the boards; fighting off Carolina attackers before taking the puck behind the net and eventually earning an assist on the ensuing Callahan goal.

It is really important that Dubinsky gets rolling offensively.  With the GAS Line emerging as a constant threat to score, having a second line that can score causes opposing teams to make decisions on which lines to use their best shutdown defensemen against.  That is why coach Tortorella continued to move him around until he found a combination that worked.  Clearly, he needs to remain with Ryan Callahan.  With seven points in his last seven games, Callahan continues drive hard to the net creating scoring opportunities.

Last night, Brian Boyle took Richards’ spot on the Dubi-Cally line, and the line gave Carolina all they could handle-combining for five points between them.  If Boyle remains with the Wolf Pack duo, and the GAS Line stays intact, where does that leave Brad Richards?  Most likely, this was another Tortorella attempt to heat a cold player up, and Richards will continue to center Callahan and Dubinsky, with Boyle filling in throughout the game.

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