BRADY AIRS IT OUT
OTTAWA — It was ultimately for naught, but Brady Skjei bounced back in Saturday’s Game 2, 6-5 double-overtime loss with a pair of goals. His second put the Rangers up 5-3 at 5:10 of the third period, and it came after he broke up a slot pass as the only man back on a three-on-one. Brendan Smith then went back the other way with the puck and fed Skjei for the goal.
“Just trying to make plays,” Skjei said. “Frustrating night, but we’ve got to put it behind us.”
The promising rookie defenseman was excellent through the first five games against Montreal but his game had dipped the previous two games.
“There’s been some real good communication with his teammates and we’ve had some real good video sessions,” coach Alain Vigneault said before the game regarding Skjei. “Obviously this is a bigger stage. Every shift he goes out there he gets more experience and I’m very confident that he’ll be able to handle it better. There’s a lot of upside there, not just skill-wise but mentally he’s a real bright kid. He’s learning every time he steps on the ice.” Jesper Fast and J.T. Miller on a line with Oscar Lindberg and Pavel Buchnevich. The Rangers scored three goals in that second period.
He then shortened his bench in the third and overtime. Lindberg only played 5:07 and Buchnevich 5:46, the rookie’s one, 33-second shift of the third period his last of the game.
Jimmy Vesey played 2:13 of the first overtime and didn’t play again after the 7:28 mark of that initial extra period. Skjei didn’t play the final 6:48 of the third and Smith sat the last 5:37 of the third before each played regular overtime minutes.
“We felt at the time that we had a couple of guys that were playing pretty good and I just thought it was the right thing to do,” Vigneault said of shortening his bench.