McDonagh feels ‘good’ after practice, ready for playoffs

Ryan McDonagh did not make the trip to Ottawa with his Rangers teammates for Saturday afternoon’s penultimate match of the regular season, but the captain engaged fully in Friday’s practice and dispelled thoughts he might be impaired heading into the playoff opener in Montreal that probably will be played Wednesday.

“I feel really good,” said McDonagh, who has missed the club’s three matches since the March 28 playoff clincher while tending to an undisclosed injury he had played through for a couple of weeks. “I’m excited to be back with the group.

“We’re coming down to the wire here as far as what we want to do and where we want to be. We’re progressing in the right direction.”

McDonagh, who was paired with Dan Girardi for the team’s extensive penalty-kill drills, leads the club and is 17th in the NHL while clocking 24:23 per game. It is unclear whether the defenseman will play in Sunday’s f inale at the Garden against the Penguins, but that would not be necessary for him to be primed to go when it counts.

“[This break] has been good for everything,” he said. “Recharge the mind here, hopefully for a long run, and physically, for sure, letting the body heal up. We have enough time before the playoffs start that we’re able to get back out there and feel good on the ice.” Henrik Lundqvist will get the start against the Senators while Antti Raanta, who went down late in practice after taking a shot on the knee, is good to go Sunday.

“I feel pretty good,” said Lundqvist, who will make his sixth straight start since returning from the hip injury that cost him nearly three weeks last month. “My timing is better, my reads are better. You just try and maximize every minute you get to prepare yourself [for the playoffs].”

Coach Alain Vigneault said immediately after practice he hadn’t decided on a lineup for Saturday, but 25-year-old winger Taylor Beck, recalled Friday from the AHL Wolf Pack, will make his Rangers debut.

Beck, acquired from Edmonton organization for Justin Fontaine on March 1, has 13 points (6-7) in 14 games for Hartford and a combined 63 points (19-44) in the AHL this season.

“He’s a young player I don’t know a lot about, so I’d like the opportunity to see him,” Vigneault said of the 6-foot-2, 203pounder, who has recorded 23 points (11 goals) in 90 NHL games since having been Nashville’s 70th overall selection in the 2009 draft.