Game 1 lineup: Peter Laviolette-led Rangers prepared for biggest test yet
TARRYTOWN - The exact number of coaches Chris Drury interviewed last summer isn’t public knowledge, but it’s known around NHL circles to be substantial.
Peter Laviolette was up first on that long list, and by the time the Rangers’ team president and general manager completed the thorough process to his satisfaction, he found himself drawn right back to the candidate who kicked off the month-plus marathon.
“As some of you have noted, I was meticulous,” Drury told reporters from the MSG Training Center on Tuesday. “I took my time and did a lot of homework. It just so happened to be scheduling wise, Peter was the first person I interviewed, and no one came close to knocking him out of the box.”
Nearly a year later, with the Blueshirts one of only four teams still alive in the chase for the Stanley Cup, Drury's decision is looking wise.
Laviolette wasn’t the most exciting hire for a fan base that had seen him bounce around with five teams prior to landing in New York, but his experienced, steady hand turned out to be exactly what these Rangers needed.
Drury described a highly organized approach with a willingness and aptitude to adjust when needed, while players have raved about improved communication and lineup stability.
"It's been a lot of preparation from day one in camp – from a system standpoint, to a finding our identity standpoint, to the competitiveness in practice, and then to a continuity standpoint, too," center Vincent Trocheck said. "We’ve all had a familiar role or linemates throughout the entire year, and I think that continuity helps. Everything that we've done this whole year, it’s been to build ourselves to this point – to a team that we think can win a championship. Now it's just kind of putting everything that we've worked on all year to use."
Above all, Drury recognized that the Blueshirts needed to be pushed harder in the aftermath of last season's devastating first-round loss to the New Jersey Devils.
Their world-class talent needed a world-class work ethic to match it.
He attempted to accomplish that with a handful of grit-minded acquisitions in recent years − beginning with the 2021 offseason additions of Sammy Blais, Barclay Goodrow, Patrik Nemeth and Ryan Reaves, with Goodrow the only one left standing, and extending to the much more successful 2022 signing of Vincent Trocheck − but fulfilling that hard-to-play-against mantra was going require a more consistent voice of accountability on the bench.
That made the demanding-but-fair Laviolette an ideal fit.
“A lot of it, to me, comes down to details and planning,” Drury said. “You saw right from the first minute in a training camp, the details we were working on, the pace at which practice and training camp was played. I think guys understood right from there, things around here were elevated and you better be ready to go.”
Anyone who's been around the team in recent seasons has witnessed the difference under this coaching staff.
The Rangers are split into two groups every practice, with winners and losers being crowned based on the results of each drill. The tempo has noticeably ratcheted up compared to the relaxed approach of previous coach Gerard Gallant, as has the variance with more diverse practice plans.
The result has been treating every day with playoff-like intensity.
"We’re competing against each other," veteran Chris Kreider said. "Everything is a game within a game. It's just kind of been ingrained in us from the first day. All these small games and other small competitions, you can't not work as hard as you possibly can in a situation like that. It just raises everyone's level."
Their next opponent will test that newfound tenacity.
The Florida Panthers await in the Eastern Conference Final, which will begin with Game 1 on Wednesday at 8 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.
Rangers-Panthers preview: Inside line-by-line matchups, with series prediction
The defending conference champs are a ferocious outfit that led the league in hits this season while tying the Winnipeg Jets for fewest goals allowed. They've achieved that success behind a signature forecheck that's executed by a versatile, hard-nosed group of forwards and a D corps that's got plenty of size and mobility.
The Laviolette-led Rangers believe their season of grinding has equipped them for the challenge, but as their coach noted this week, "The toughest work is still in front of us."
"I know that there were questions at the beginning of the year about how we would handle certain teams and their physicality, and I think our guys have done a really good job," Laviolette said. "I think one of the biggest things going into the series is we're trying to establish our game – our plan, our identity that's worked for us. Along the way, I do think you have to acknowledge your opponent and things that they do – not just physicality, but what they do on the forecheck, what they do in D-zone coverage or what they do off the faceoff plays – and you have to make small adjustments to that. But I think our team has done a really good job of playing the hand that's been dealt."
This is precisely the time the Rangers expect their shift in mindset and preparation to pay off.
There's little doubt that they have the skill to get it done, but they're going to have to dig even deeper to take this run further than when they reached the same stage under Gallant in 2022.
Drury believes he identified the right coach to get them there, and this tight-knit group of players seem to have fully bought in. The only thing left to do is show the rest of the league by passing their biggest test yet.
"I think their love for each other," Drury said when asked about the primary trait that sets this year's team apart. "I really do think they come to work every day, they love being here, they love being Rangers. The way we end every practice, the way we start every practice, the compete. There's a lot of belief in that room, and I think they're all working for each other. It's been exciting to be part of."
NY Rangers (8-2) projected lineup: Game 1, Eastern Conference Final, vs. Florida Panthers (8-3)
When: Wednesday, May 22 at 8 p.m.
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV/Radio: ESPN/98.7 FM
Forwards
Top line ⊳ Chris Kreider (LW) ⋄ Mika Zibanejad (C) ⋄ Jack Roslovic (RW)
Second line ⊳ Artemi Panarin (LW) ⋄ Vincent Trocheck (C) ⋄ Alexis Lafrenière (RW)
Third line ⊳ Filip Chytil (LW) ⋄ Alex Wennberg (C) ⋄ Kaapo Kakko (RW)
Fourth line ⊳ Will Cuylle (LW) ⋄ Barclay Goodrow (C) ⋄ Jimmy Vesey (RW)
Defensemen
Top pair ⊳ Ryan Lindgren (L) ⋄ Adam Fox (R)
Second pair ⊳ K'Andre Miller (L) ⋄ Jacob Trouba (R)
Third pair ⊳ Erik Gustafsson (L) ⋄ Braden Schneider (R)
Goalies
Starter ⊳ Igor Shesterkin
Backup ⊳ Jonathan Quick
Healthy scratches: F Jonny Brodzinski, G Louis Domingue, F Adam Edström, D Zac Jones, F Matt Rempe, D Chad Ruhwedel and F Blake Wheeler
Vincent Z. Mercogliano is the New York Rangers beat reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Read more of his work at lohud.com/sports/rangers/ and follow him on Twitter @vzmercogliano.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: Game 1 lineup: Laviolette-led Rangers prepared for biggest test yet
