Alain Vigneault is in the midst of the balancing act between rest and sharpness for his players that coaches in all sports deal with as the regular season winds down and the postseason awaits, and the Rangers’ headman is opting for rest.
With three games remaining in the regular season, Vigneault said integral forwards Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello and Jesper Fast — along with captain Ryan McDonagh, who already missed the past two games — would sit for Wednesday night’s matchup at league-leading Washington.
Vigneault said none of the “bumps and bruises” was serious enough to keep any of those players out for the start of the playoffs, which almost certainly will be at Montreal, the Atlantic Division winner, either Wednesday or Thursday next week.
“Right now, the four guys that weren’t on the ice are all day to day,” Vigneault said after none of the four took part in Tuesday’s practice. “They’ve all been playing through certain bumps and bruises. So we can at this time give them a couple days here. Not exactly sure how things are going to unfold, but they are day to day.”
Heading into Tuesday, there remained a scant mathematical possibility the Rangers could pass the Blue Jackets for third in the Metropolitan Division. All Columbus needed, however, was one point over the final four games, starting with Tuesday night’s contest at Pittsburgh. Either way, Vigneault already was on to thinking about how to be as prepared as possible to beat the Canadiens.
“I would say it’s a combination of a few things,” he said. “We’re where we are and we know who we’re going to play. So a couple guys that haven’t played a lot I can give an opportunity to give a little bit of ice time. We all know in playoff hockey, a lot of things can happen. So this might help us down the road.”
That includes forwards Brandon Pirri, Matt Puempel and Pavel Buchnevich, all healthy scratches for the 4-3 victory over the Flyers on Sunday night that broke an eight-game home losing streak (0-5-3). Vigneault said the defense was still something he had to figure out, but it looked in practice as if Adam Clendening and Steve Kampfer would remain out of the lineup despite McDonagh’s absence.
“There are a few guys right now that have some minor bumps and bruises, no one that will not be able to start the playoffs, but it is an opportunity for us to heal those bumps and bruises,” Vigneault said. “And with those things being said, you also want to go in playing good hockey and playing the right way. We’re going to try to manage all those things at the same time.”
The Rangers are going into the postseason with high expectations.
They are fortunately going to find their way into the Atlantic side of the postseason bracket, seemingly an easier go than in their own Metropolitan side, where the Capitals, Penguins and Blue Jackets have been the three best teams in the conference.
Despite some uncertainty going into this season, with a lot of new faces and some question marks hanging over some of the worn-down veterans, the Rangers still have shown a commendable amount of resolve to go along with their speed and skill up front. Of course, there is Henrik Lundqvist in nets, as well, quickly regaining his form in the four games since he returned from a nearly three-week absence due to a hip injury. (An injury that likely was given the luxury of time to fully heal because of the Rangers’ comfortable place in the standings.)
“We set a goal going into this year that we want to make the playoffs, and when we’re in it, go for the big prize,” Lundqvist said. “We all believe we can do it. I think we have the parts, the skill. Now it’s about making everything work at the same time and [playing] our absolute best. We’re going to need it.”
They also are going to need to be healthy, and that was the overarching goal in this final week.
“You want to go into the playoffs and you want to feel good about yourself,” Vigneault said, “with your game, with your health, and that’s what we’re going to try to do.”