Rangers Peter Laviolette continues to shuffle his third pairing defensemen

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Ryan Hall
October 29, 2024 (9:22)

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Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette continues to work with his 3rd defensive pair as this has had been felt throughout some of the Rangers line up.

These changes began when Ryan Lindgren returned from injury reserve which forced Laviolette to look at Braden Schneider and Victor Mancini who became a new defense pairing. This was his first game back after being scratched for one contest.

With all this defensive shuffling, the next casualty in the defensive pairings will be Zach Jones who is likely not to suit up against the Washington Capitals. He expressed his views on being scratched and how unhappy people would be if that were to happen to them.

«Listen, nobody's happy when they get scratched, that's for sure,» the 24-year-old defenseman said last week. «You can ask anybody in this locker room. They're not going to be happy when they're coming out of the lineup. It is what it is. It's a business decision. I kind of just took it for what it was and used it as a reset almost.

«Tried not to think about it as being the seventh or being the odd man out, more of just take a reset, take a break, clear your head a little bit and whenever I get that next opportunity take advantage of it.»

One piece of good news with all these shuffles is that the Rangers have much needed depth on defence which could bode well in terms of trade or hanging on to these players for the playoffs as their salaries do not apply. It's widely expected that Laviolette will continue this musical chair of defensemen as he continues to carry more than he needs.

His next chance to see his new combination will be against the Washington Capitals as the game will be held on October 29th and game time will be 7:30 PM eastern in Washington DC.