LAS VEGAS — The recalling of Scott Morrow by the Rangers amid uncertainty surrounding Will Borgen’s status provided some insight into the team’s approach to configuring the defense.
As the Rangers prepared to face the Golden Knights at T-Mobile Arena, Borgen, who missed the previous two games with an upper-body injury, was a game-time decision once again Tuesday night.
Morrow made his season debut Sunday night against the Red Wings and was prepared to continue in Borgen’s stead.
“We’ve been really excited about Scotty’s game,” head coach Mike Sullivan said after the morning skate on Tuesday. “I think he’s a good, solid two-way defenseman. I think he’s a good puck mover, in particular. Given the fact that we have a right-handed shot that was questionable [Borgen], both [assistant coach David Quinn] and I prefer to have defensemen on their strong side, for a lot of reasons. We could talk for three days on it. The other aspect of it is some of our lefties just aren’t comfortable playing the offside … it’s very different. We didn’t want to put any of the players in difficult circumstances. So that was part of the decision for Scotty to get called up.
“We’re also excited about his game and potentially where it could go. He’s a really good puck mover. We think he has decent instincts offensively. He can help us with a transition game. He’s pretty good along the offensive blue line. He has good size. I think, positionally, there’s an opportunity for growth there and I think we’ve got a chance to help him. Physically, I think he’s capable of playing at this level. He’s hockey strong, and he has good size.
“Those are all the things that attracted us to him in the first place. We think potentially he has the ability to be an impact player at this level at some point in time. When that happens, I think it depends on him and it depends on the situation. He’ll get an opportunity to play and has got an opportunity to play. We’ll see where it goes.”
Noting that it’s been a tough stretch for the Hartford Wolf Pack, which snapped a seven-game winless streak with an overtime victory over Springfield on Tuesday afternoon, Morrow said he’s felt confident about his individual game.
The 23-year-old has just one goal and one assist through 11 games, but Morrow believes the bounces will eventually go his way if he sticks with it.
Before he made his Rangers debut on Sunday, Morrow’s last NHL appearance came with the Hurricanes in last season’s Eastern Conference final against the eventual Stanley Cup champions, the Panthers.
“I definitely learned a ton in that experience,” he said. “You really can’t get too high or too low. I thought it was a little bit of an emotional roller coaster, not playing the first few rounds, getting thrown in there. Things don’t go my way Game 1 and it’s kind of back and forth a little bit. No matter how things go here, just know that you got to focus on what’s in front of you.
“No matter how well you played last game, it doesn’t matter. No matter how poorly you played and if you’re getting another opportunity, then it doesn’t matter. Just take it one day at a time.”
Sunday counted as Morrow’s 17th regular-season contest of his NHL career. He logged just 9:56 of ice time in the 2-1 loss to Detroit, which was largely due to the Rangers’ surplus of shorthanded ice time in the third period.
“I feel a lot more ready for the NHL than I have, you know, at any point last year,” Morrow said.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
