It’s not very often that an offensively gifted hockey player sits out and their team finds a way to win.
With Brad Richards a healthy scratch for the first time in his career, the New York Rangers did just that, winning Game 4 by beating the Boston Bruins 4-3 in overtime.
Scratching Richards was probably one of the toughest decisions head coach John Tortorella had to make in his coaching career, but it turned out to be the right one.
With Richards out of the lineup, the Blueshirts found a way to succeed for three reasons:
Better offensive lines
It’s easy to see that Richards is simply not a fourth-line player. He is an offensive-minded NHLer that needs to play with other offensive-minded players in order to succeed.
With Richards gone, Tortorella managed to find the right line combinations. This was especially the case for youngster Chris Kreider.
Kreider moved up and played with Rick Nash and Derrick Brassard. This line generated a lot of sustained offensive pressure and played a big role in Kreider’s overtime-winning goal.
In all, the line of Kreider (one goal), Brassard (two assists) and Nash (one assist) combined for four points and had nine shots on goal. If Richards was in the lineup, this line may have never come to fruition.
A better power play
While the Rangers power play is still dreadful, scoring just 7.1 per cent of the time (last of all active playoff teams), it was a lot better Thursday night without Richards on the ice.
The club’s power play managed to put six shots on goal, have better puck possession, a lot more momentum and, most important, it came through when the team needed it the most.
Down 3-2 in the third period and Bruins’ forward Tyler Seguin serving a too many men penalty, Rangers’ forward Brian Boyle made them pay with his third goal of the playoffs.
New York’s power play may have been 1-4 on the night, but in the end, it came through.
A real fourth line
As mentioned above, Richards just isn’t a fourth line player.
Richards isn’t someone who’s going to play a physical brand of hockey, get into a fight or play less than ten minutes.
Kris Newbury, Derek Dorsett and Michael Haley are.
These guys can hit, provide energy, go after pucks and be just fine playing around eight minutes a game. This line may not produce a lot of offence but they fulfill the roles of a proper fourth line.
