So much for keeping any line the same. Alain Vigneault has opted to dress Justin Falk. He’ll make his Rangers debut in an hour. Falk replaces Arron Asham. That means seven defensemen are playing and only 11 forwards.

Vigneault hasn’t been pleased with John Moore’s play, who admitted he needs to pick it up. Everyone was anointing him in camp as the guy to watch. But it’s easy to forget Moore is a young player without much NHL experience. Maybe we should’ve expected him to take a step back. It’s only four games in and the new coach wants to have an extra D opting for defense over offense. Maybe AV is starting to realize the personnel isn’t suited for his up tempo style. Well, at least not yet.

The team’s depth is already in question. While the prospects develop at Hartford, he’s stuck icing a stale lineup. That means the Rangers have to win the old way. By out grinding and outworking opponents. Against a strong team in a hostile environment, this has the recipe of a disaster. Guess we’ll see how it works out.