EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — The Rangers have utilized 23 different line combinations to start their first 10 games. Sunday afternoon against the Kings, coach David Quinn will feature combinations 24, 25, 26 and 27.
This is not a manifestation of a coach pulling names out of a hat in an attempt to generate offense from a club that had scored just 13 five-on-five goals, tied for fourth-fewest in the league through Friday, and had been outscored 8-2 at full strength over the previous three contests. This was more than just a spin of the wheel.
For the new combinations represent, according to Quinn, “a domino effect” of moving Filip Chytil back to his natural position in the middle, where he will skate between Jesper Fast and either Cody McLeod or Vinni Lettieri.