When the Rangers finally get back to action Sunday against Edmonton at Madison Square Garden, they’ll be looking not only to snap a three-game losing streak, but also to get their offense going.
Part of that includes moving struggling newcomer Pavel Dorofeyev to the top line, where he’ll skate alongside Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafrenière, but also moving Gabe Perreault from the first line to the third.
“The last five games or so, I haven’t been as good as I want to be, the same as the team,’’ Perreault said after practice Saturday in Tarrytown. “I think everyone is trying to get back to where we were. Over the course of the season, there’s a lot of changes in the lineup. We’re trying something new here and hopefully it will be good.”
Perreault had six points in his first seven games of the season, but enters Sunday with just one point — a goal against Anaheim — in his past seven.
So not only is head coach Mike Sullivan trying to unlock Dorofeyev, he’s also looking to see what Perreault can do with Noah Laba and Will Cuylle.
“We think [Laba and Cuylle] together are a foundation of a line we can utilize a certain way,’’ Sullivan said. “[Perreault’s addition] I think adds an offensive dimension and playmaking ability to that line because Gabe sees the ice really well. I think Gabe’s attention to detail away from the puck sometimes goes unnoticed because when people view Gabe, they point to his offensive ability [and] his playmaking ability. He’s a pretty conscientious player defensively [and] in the right spot a lot.”
As Sullivan noted, Cuylle has scored 20 goals in each of the previous two seasons and he’s confident Perreault’s presence will help.
“Gabe on that line could enhance their [offensive] ability, without a doubt,’’ Sullivan said.
What also needs to change for the Rangers, though, is what they’re getting — or not getting — from Dorofeyev.
Expected to be the team’s most explosive scorer, Dorofeyev has just three goals in 14 games this year.
He just turned 26 and is in his first year on Broadway after arriving in a trade from Las Vegas that cost the Rangers three draft picks — two first-rounders.
And Dorofeyev signed a seven-year, $77 million deal with the Blueshirts with the anticipation that he’d be the 35-plus goal scorer he’d been with Las Vegas each of the past two seasons and replace the offense that Artemi Panarin took with him to Los Angeles.
“We’re trying to find a way to get some chemistry,” Zibanejad said. “We’re working together and are figuring each other out. Pavel is a skill guy who can score. We want to make plays to try to get him in areas where he can shoot, but work his way into those areas.”
Dorofeyev has also been the victim of at least some bad luck, according to Zibanejad.
“It’s not that he hasn’t had any looks,” Zibanejad said. “He’s had looks and gotten close a lot. He’s hit a lot of crossbars. If a few more of those go in, I don’t think we’re talking about this and we’re not switching [lines]. But we want this to work. You always want it to work, it doesn’t matter what line it is, anytime you switch.”
