Apparently an angry Alain Vigneault is all that was needed for some changes to happen in New York. The Rangers have called up Tanner Glass and Steve Kampfer after their 4-1 loss to the Montreal Canadiens last night. After being manhandled by the new size of the Habs, the Rangers have brought up a little toughness to inset into their lineup.
While it’s unclear if the pair will get into the lineup right away, Glass and Kampfer don’t appear to be improvements on anyone in the Rangers lineup. Both players are borderline NHL players at this point in their careers and may just be around to keep the players accountable in practice. One possible scratch would be the super talented but still raw Pavel Buchnevich, who has only played 28 games this season and been bounced up and down between leagues.
The fourth line of Brandon Pirri, Oscar Lindberg and Matt Puempel played sparingly last night, and could be broken up with the insertion of Glass. If the 33-year old plays, it would be his first game in the NHL this season. Last year he suited up 57 times for the Rangers, registering seven points and 66 penalty minutes.
At this point Glass is what the Rangers need. They couldn’t keep up with Montreals physicality from guys like Ott and Martinsen, then you got other guys like Ovechkin, Chara(or is it Bergeron or Marchand, I get them confused) who’ll throw the body around in the conference.
What I’m trying to say is the Rangers are afraid to hit and at times Zuccarello and Vesey(who are two of the smallest guys on the team) are the only ones who’ll even attempt to hit or get into it with anybody