Rangers bump Pavel Dorofeyev to first line, Gabe Perreault out of top six in latest line shuffle

The Rangers have had the past three days off, and they featured a bit of a different look as they returned to the ice for Friday morning’s practice. With the team closing October on a three-game losing streak, head coach Mike Sullivan decided to rework the forward lines in search of an offensive spark. Hoping to get Pavel Dorofeyev going and create a bit more balance up-and-down the lineup, Sullivan bumped the newly acquired star scorer up to the top line, pushing young Gabe Perreault out of the top six. Dorofeyev, who has scored just three times through the first 14 games this season, will have the chance to skate alongside two of the team's top playmakers in Mika Zibanejad and Alexis Lafreniere for the first time.“We’re moving people around based on a number of different objectives,” Sullivan explained. “No. 1 we’re trying to help Pav capture his best game, but we’re also trying to create some more balance throughout the lineup.“I was reluctant to move people earlier in the year because we thought that top line was playing really well, but we think the timing is right to try to make this adjustment -- I think it’s the one combination we haven’t gone to yet, with respect to Pav inside the top six.”Dorofeyev, of course, started the year on the second line before being demoted to the third. As far as Perreault, Sullivan still thinks the second-year winger has still been putting forward a strong game, and he feels that bumping him down in the lineup could help create some of that balance. “With Gabe, no matter what line we put him on he’s going to bring certain elements that are going to help,” the head coach emphasized. “When you look at how the lines are constructed we feel we have balance on both sides of the puck.”The new, balanced group will be put to the test Sunday against the Oilers.