Rangers Practice New Lines, Kreider Day-to-Day, and Rempe Recalled to NYR

As the Rangers returned from their West Coast road trip with their tail between their legs, we got our first look at the lines Laviolette may deploy tonight against the St. Louis Blues.

You'll notice a few key things from Vince's post above. First off, the only familiar forward line is Panarin, Trocheck, and Lafrenière, which has now taken its rightful place at the top of the order for whatever that's worth. Second, there is still no sign of Filip Chytil's much-needed return to the lineup. Third, the Kaapo Kakko Center experiment continues; Kakko has won 14 of 27 faceoffs this year, which is good for 51.9%! Fourth, Zac Jones returned to the lineup, which was anticipated after Ruhwedel and Mancini were assigned back to the Wolf Pack. Lastly, Brett Berard is taking reps next to Will Cuylle and Mika Zibanejad, which begs the question: where is Chris Kreider?

There were concerns Kreider could have been dealing with an injury after his brief absence from Saturday's game. The Rangers are playing it safe and letting the veteran forward rest and recover, meaning there could be a chance Rempe sees some ice time this week, which is exciting for some fans. However, the more exhilarating and essential detail is how well Brett Berard acclimates and plays, especially with top-six minutes. Berard, the Ranger's 2020 fifth-round pick, has been the Wolf Pack's most dominant forward for over a season and was doing it all while playing big minutes. He has succeeded on big stages before, winning gold with the American WJC squad.

Update: After practice ended, it became more transparent that Rempe could be returning to NYC and immediately suiting up against St. Louis tonight.