Sullivan Moves Dorofeyev to Rangers’ Top Line
Rangers coach Mike Sullivan moved Pavel Dorofeyev onto the top line at practice on Friday, ahead of New York’s Sunday game against Edmonton.
Pavel Dorofeyev will skate alongside Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière after Rangers coach Mike Sullivan reshuffled his forward lines at Friday’s practice. Gabe Perreault moved from the top line to the third, where he practiced with Will Cuylle and Noah Laba.
The change comes as New York tries to end a three-game losing streak; the Rangers have lost five of their last six. Dorofeyev has three goals in 14 games, despite generating quality scoring chances, and was dropped out of the top six for Monday’s 6-3 loss to Los Angeles.
Sullivan said the move is intended to help Dorofeyev find his best game and bring more balance to the lineup. He said Zibanejad’s line had been less effective recently, and that the team had not yet tried this combination with Dorofeyev in the top six. The coach made no other lineup changes at practice.
Sullivan said he was keeping defensemen Vladislav Gavrikov and Adam Fox together, while leaving open the possibility of adjusting the other pairings based on performance. He said the team would continue trying to restore the effectiveness of Sean Durzi and Marcus Pettersson as a pair. New York next faces Edmonton on Sunday.