Decisions are coming soon for Alain Vigneault when the Rangers coach makes his lineup for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the Canadiens, starting Wednesday night in Montreal.
And at least initially, it seems that experience is going to play a big factor.
“There’s no doubt that that’s a big part of trusting your team,” Vigneault said Monday at the Westchester practice facility. “Guys that have been through the battles, guys that understand about the importance of staying in the moment and not focusing on the outcome.
“But at the end of the day, probably experience when you weigh in at first. You look at that and these guys have proven they have done it in the past. But once a series starts, you have some game-to-game decisions.”
That type of explanation might lead to the idea that rugged winger Tanner Glass is going to start on the fourth line while 21-year-old Russian rookie Pavel Buchnevich will be a healthy scratch. Glass would also create a more cohesive fourth line, a defensively responsible unit with Oscar Lindberg and Jesper Fast.
But that also doesn’t guarantee it’s going to stay that way.
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“In the playoffs, you’re going with your people that are playing their best at that time,” Vigneault said. “That could be from a rookie to an older player.”
The Rangers also have nine defensemen on the roster, seven of them considered regulars. If Ryan McDonagh, Marc Staal and Brady Skjei are set on the left side, then Vigneault has to make a decision on the right between Dan Girardi, Nick Holden, Kevin Klein and Brendan Smith.
“You never have enough defensemen,” Vigneault said. “Obviously a couple good decisions here to make moving forward, and I will make them in the best interest of the team.”
It doesn’t seem like Girardi is a real option to be left out, as the veteran played the regular-season finale on Sunday alongside longtime partner McDonagh, who had missed the previous four games due to a minor, undisclosed injury.
“I figured [McDonagh] would want to play one before the start of the playoffs,” Girardi said. “I thought we had a pretty decent game, got to feeling good back together. We’ll see how we do on Wednesday.”
Girardi also had a custom alteration to his skates, having cut a hole out to expand the area for the inside of his swollen right ankle. He said the new skates have alleviated most of the pain, and missing most of the month of February due to the deep gash there from blocking a shot might have been “a blessing in disguise.”
“We’ll see how it turns out,” he said. “But as of right now, I feel really good.”
The Rangers announced the signing of their sixth-round pick (171st overall) from the 2016 draft, forward Gabriel Fountaine. The 19-year-old had 23 goals and 52 points in 56 games in the QMJHL this season.