There are still some decisions left for Alain Vigneault to make internally when figuring out the way he wants his Rangers lineup to look when the postseason starts in two weeks.
Though rookie winger Jimmy Vesey is set to be a healthy scratch for Friday’s game against the Penguins at the Garden, he is still very much going to be part of the Rangers’ playoff picture.
“There’s no doubt that in my mind, for us going into the playoffs, Jimmy is going to be in that lineup,” Vigneault said after Thursday’s practice, when Vesey skated with the extras. “Maybe not there for the next game, but he will be there in the playoffs.”
Vesey played in the Rangers’ most recent game, when they locked up a postseason berth by securing a point in an overtime loss to the Sharks in San Jose on Tuesday. But Vigneault was hardly veiled when evaluating how Vesey had played.
“The thing with Jimmy is that he had been playing some really solid hockey, great energy, was hard on the forecheck. For whatever reason, in San Jose, he had an off night. That’s being very polite, it was a real off night,” Vigneault said. “It’s not a big deal. But I’ve got some options right now and I’m looking at those options.”
Set to come back in is Pavel Buchnevich, the 21-year-old Russian winger who sat Tuesday. He practiced on a line with Rick Nash and Mika Zibanejad.
Captain Ryan McDonagh missed Thursday’s practice for “maintenance,” but Vigneault also called the indispensable defenseman “day-to-day” with an undisclosed injury.
“There’s a good chance he’s going to play,” Vigneault said of Friday’s game, “but depending on how he feels [Friday morning] we might be cautious.”
The Rangers are 0-5-2 in their previous seven games at the Garden, and they know it’s important to play well in their remaining three regular-season games on Broadway.
“We need to play well at home, we’re very aware of that,” Vigneault said. “We’ve done that for stretches, we need to put a 60-[minute] game together.”
It’s a fact that is not lost on the players either, as the 19 wins at home were better than just four teams in the conference going into Thursday night’s play.
“We want to make sure, playing in New York, playing in Madison Square Garden, that’s the place where you want to be very confident, you want to be excited,” goalie Henrik Lundqvist said. “For that to happen, we need to start winning some games.”