If the Senators thought Chris Neil had any impact in Game 5, well, the Rangers did not.
The Ottawa tough guy played just 2:26 in his postseason debut Saturday afternoon, his team winning 5-4 in overtime. Neil’s five shifts did not go unnoticed as he tried to fight Tanner Glass early in the first period and then jumped Glass early in the second before being stapled to the bench once he was allowed out of the penalty box.
It was not immediately known if Neil would play again in Game 6 on Tuesday night at the Garden, with the Rangers on the brink of elimination, down in the best-of-seven contest, 3-2. But either way, coach Alain Vigneault was pretty clear with his opinion of Neil’s effect on his team in Game 5.
“I can’t believe that a player playing 2 minutes and 26 seconds would have [any] factor on our group,” Vigneault said after his team’s practice Monday. “If it is, then you don’t deserve to win.”
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That was just the second game Neil had played in two months, the other being the April 9 regular-season finale against the Islanders. The 37-year-old agitator also has a history with the Rangers in the postseason, having concussed Brian Boyle in Game 5 of their 2012 first-round series after Boyle had scored three goals in the first three games. Neil was not suspended for that shot to Boyle’s head, and despite playing his whole career on the line of what’s legal and what’s not, has never been suspended by the league.
“It’s five shifts in 2 minutes and 26 seconds, I think it was,” Vigneault reiterated. “I don’t see it.”
Part of Vigneault leaning on his veterans to protect leads late in games — which includes his team allowing two six-on-five goals in this series and three overall this postseason that have all led to losses — means rookie defenseman Brady Skjei sits during those times. Skjei sat for the final 5:04 of regulation in Game 5 as the Senators managed to score the game-tying goal with 1:26 remaining and the extra attacker on.
“I think Brady is a real good young player. But I also believe that on the left side, Marc Staal and Ryan McDonagh have a lot of experience and they’re good players, too,” Vigneault said. “Brady is, without a doubt, a good young defenseman that is only going to get better.”
In practice, Vigneault stuck with the same forward lines and defensive pairs he had for the previous two games, meaning Glass was next to Oscar Lindberg and J.T. Miller, while talented rookie Pavel Buchnevich remained on the outside just rotating in.
In terms of treating an elimination game any differently as a coach, Vigneault admitted that it might have to happen.
“I believe in that four-line rotation and six-defensemen rotation. But, if for whatever reason, certain guys are bringing it more than others, we might have to shorten the bench,” he said. “But every game is different. It unfolds differently, and you just have to see what’s out there and make the decisions accordingly.”