NY Rangers Feature Drastically Different Forward Lines at Practice

The New York Rangers have some new-look lines at practice leading up to their game on Sunday.

Apr 5, 2026; New York, New York, USA; New York Rangers head coach Mike Sullivan speaks to reporters after an 8-1 win against the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden. Mandatory Credit: Danny Wild-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

As the Rangers prepare to return to the ice against the Edmonton Oilers on Sunday, head coach Mike Sullivan has made major changes to his forward lines. 

With the Rangers on a three-game losing streak and having lost five of their last six games, shaking things up right now makes sense. Over the course of a long season, tweaks are always going to be made to forward groups and defensive pairings, and this feels like the team to do it for New York. 

Following the loss of Igor Shesterkin for the rest of the season, the Rangers are going to need a lot of other players to step up in order to be a contender. In their recent loss to the Los Angeles Kings, the team started to move some things around on the defensive pairings. However, at their practice on Thursday, it was the forward lines that had a completely different look. 

Rangers Showcase New Forward Lines at Practice 

Lines look like this:

Dorofeyev - Zibanejad - Lafrenière
Kartye - Miller - Bjorkstrand
Cuylle - Laba - Perreault
Raddysh - Glendening - Rempe#NYR

— Vince Z. Mercogliano (@vzmercogliano) October 30, 2026

New York has made a number of changes to their forward lines early on in the season, but Thursday’s practice highlighted arguably the biggest shake-up so far. 

On the first line, the trio of Mika Zibanejad, Alexis Lafreniere and Gabe Perreault has been split up. It was Pavel Dorofeyev moving up and taking Perreault’s spot alongside the other two. 

Dorofeyev has been heating up a bit of late, and many believed that this trio would ultimately be the one that Mike Sullivan settled on for his first line. Dorofeyev has the potential to be the best goal scorer on the Rangers, and his being on the top line makes sense. 

Furthermore, on the second line, that group featured Tye Kartye,  Oliver Bjorkstrand, and J.T. Miller. This group has a bit of a grinder feel to it now, and it will be interesting to see the type of offensive production that they get from it. 

On the third line, that is where Gabe Perreault went. He will now be playing alongside Will Cuylle and Noah Laba. This trio is young and could end up being a good watch offensively. Perreault is a very talented player and Cuylle can be an effective goal scorer on this line.

With a need to shake things up, all of the movement on the lines has certainly accomplished that. Getting Dorofeyev really going should be a goal for the team, and he, alongside Zibanejad and Lafreniere, is the best spot for him. The game on Sunday will be a challenging one, and it will be interesting to see if these end up being the lines they use.