With Game 5 dropping the puck tonight, the Rangers appear set to make one lineup change to try and swing things in their favor.
According to NHL.com’s Dave Lozo Brandon Dubinsky appears to be in for New York as he left this morning’s skate with the rest of the starters while centerman John Mitchell stayed behind to skate further with the usual scratches. Lozo also ruminates on the possibility that Stu Bickel returns to his spot on the blue line while Steve Eminger sits thanks to Brandon Prust’s return to action after his suspension.
Those moves would allow the Rangers penalty kill to return to normal with Prust back while also giving their offense a potential boost with Dubinsky in for Mitchell. Mitchell has been playing on the Rangers’ second power play unit and centering the fourth line.
Meanwhile, New Jersey’s lineup appears ready to stay the same for Game 5 according to Fire & Ice’s Tom Gulitti with Adam Larsson and Petr Sykora again taking a seat. Peter Harrold and Jacob Josefson have taken their spots in New Jersey’s lineup and saw Josefson earn an assist, his first playoff point, in Game 4. Harrold replaced Larsson after Game 1 of the series and has played strong in his place.