Vigneault revamps 4th line, benches Stoll and Glass for Fast and Etem against Montreal

Fast (Getty)

Speed kills. At least that is the signal AV is sending for tonight’s contest against equally quick Montreal. Emerson Etem will make his NYR debut on the 4th line with center, Dominic Moore and winger Jesper Fast.

“I’m definitely excited and ready to go,” Etem told Jim Cerny yesterday before he was even sure he’d be playing. Now he is in along with Jesper Fast to create the fastest 4th line in recent Rangers history.

Another addition to the lineup is the reinsertion of Dan Boyle for Dylan McIlrath on defense. You can be sure that Boyle is chomping at the bit to get back in there and his addition to the PP will help tremendously.

Henrik Lundqvist gets the nod again…and you were expecting whom? This is Montreal’s home-opener and the game start is predicting to be around 7:45PM EST.

FTNYR 3 BURNING QUESTIONS?

Will the Rangers rebound?

Emphatically yes.

What can we expect from the new fourth line?

A whole lot of speed and skill. Expect them to do a great job of cycling the puck and playing keep away against the Canadiens top two lines.

What will Etem have to do to stay in the lineup?

Scoring always goes a long way. However, he was bad in the preseason, specifically at winning loose puck battles and keeping possession. If he can do that and score, he stays. Otherwise, Stoll with likely be back for the next game.

Anthony Scultore has been covering the New York Rangers and the NHL since 2014. His work also appears at... More about Anthony Scultore

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