Trying to make Sens
Rangers mull shakeup
GETTY HOW THIS ultimately manifests itself will be known in the coming days, but with his Rangers club down 2-0 in the second round to Ottawa and a day to analyze before returning to practice today in preparation for Tuesday’s Game 3 at the Garden, Alain Vigneault will consider all of his lineup options.
“Everything’s on the table right now,” Vigneault said Sunday on a conference call. “Whatever we feel is best for the group is what we’re gonna do.”
However, earlier on the call the head coach said he liked the look of his defensive pairs and feels each one has chemistry. “I don’t see myself making any changes there,” Vigneault said.
With the Rangers holding a two-goal lead late in the third Saturday, Vigneault sat the Brady Skjei-Brendan Smith pair — Skjei on the bench for the final 6:48 of the period and Smith the last 5:37. Smith, whom the Rangers acquired for two draft picks at the deadline and whose game has improved during the postseason, played only 2:34 in the third period. Smith and Skjei, leading the Rangers in plus-minus at plus-7 and plus-5, respectively, more often than not have been effective during these playoffs, and it was odd Vigneault opted not to use them down the stretch.
Vigneault felt Smith was playing well and with bite. Regarding his usage, Vigneault said, “Sometimes certain players get lost for a couple of shifts or a couple of minutes, and that’s what happened.”
Skjei logged 3:42 in the third period before playing 7:43 in the first overtime. “Minutes are based on how you’re playing and what you’re doing for the team that night, what your contribution is. It’s not based on your experience,” Vigneault said.
Ryan McDonagh and Dan Girardi were on for both of Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s redirected goals in front late in the third period. Pageau got in behind with space on the first, and on the tying goal with 1:02 left and the Senators playing an extra attacker. Girardi was in the slot and McDonagh was trying to fend off two players near the crease. “It is something that we are looking at,” Vigneault said. “Maybe I’m going to put a checker on their checker, because he’s supposed to be their checker and he got four goals last night.”
Pageau’s double-OT winner came on an oddman rush created by Nick Holden making a risky decision to pinch in an attempt to keep the puck in the offensive zone without a forward in position to cover for him. “It was obviously not the right decision at that time,” Vigneault said of Holden’s pinch.
But Vigneault didn’t sound like someone who was sour on Holden, minus-4 in seven playoff games. “I thought he had some good moments,” the coach said. “Him and Marc (Staal) got caught there yesterday on a couple of goals, but Nick has played some pretty good hockey for us. Nobody’s gonna be perfect out there; we’re gonna make mistakes. When the mistakes end up in the back of your net, obviously people are analyzing them a little bit more in depth, and that’s one that, because it became the winning goal, obviously people have a right to analyze. And we’re analyzing it also.”