Diaz may skate into lineup

HERE COMES Bobby Orr, or rather, Raphael Diaz to join the Rangers for Monday’s noon practice in Greenburgh. Alain Vigneault seems to be considering Diaz, 30 — who was beaten out soundly for a spot by Dylan McIlrath in training camp and has not played a second in the NHL this season — for Tuesday night’s Game 3 lineup.

There seems no other way to interpret Vigneault’s frequent updates on Diaz, including a recent comment that the veteran’s numerous AHL injuries are all that kept him from recalls on multiple occasions this year.

Diaz is a right-handed defenseman who can skate and play the power play, but he is undersized and has just 12 career postseason appearances, including four during the 2014 Cup run after logging 11 regular-season games following a trade from Montreal that spring.

Playing him over McIlrath, 23, would seem like a dubious move. The rookie might have bobbled the puck his first few shifts on Saturday, but it was his NHL playoff debut and he steadied. He played well in the majority of this season’s 34 appearances. He is a popular teammate. He deserves more trust than the 9:07 he played on Saturday. If this decision is merit-based, McIlrath stays in. Then there is the other question: what should Vigneault do if and when Dan Girardi is available?

Vigneault defended Girardi’s honor in a Sunday conference call claiming the injured right-handed veteran has been “probably unfairly criticized” during a bad season.

CRUSHED ICE

Center Derek Stepan did not play the final 7:57 of Saturday’s third period after being boarded head first by Penguins defenseman Ben Lovejoy, but Stepan cleared the NHL’s concussion protocol mid-game and returned to the bench. Lovejoy was not whistled for a penalty … The NHL was reviewing a potential scoring change to Keith Yandle’s goal at 12:38 of Saturday’s second period. Rick Nash appeared to touch J.T. Miller’s pass across.