Amidst all the talk of a tough schedule and changing the lineup in the quest for fresh legs, Rangers coach Alain Vigneault finally has an actual beacon of hope that is very, very close.
That would be top-six forward Chris Kreider, who has been out since having surgery on his left hand on March 28, unable to play the final nine games of the regular season and the first 10 of the postseason. The rising optimism and hopefulness in Vigneault’s voice over the past week when speaking about Kreider has been tough to miss, and it got amplified Tuesday, when the coach held a conference call with reporters while his team — down 2-1 in its best-of-seven, second-round series with the Penguins — took the day off.
“Chris is skating, and I think he’s due to see the doctors here shortly,” Vigneault said as he and his coaches met to prepare for Game 4 at the Garden on Wednesday night. “But he has been skating, and I think we are going to know here in a short time frame. I don’t know if short is a day or a couple [days]. Stick-handling and things like that – I know he’s been doing a little bit of that on his own. But he is coming along.”
Kreider has not taken part in a full practice – not that there really has been one for him to take part in – yet he has been on the ice with the team for some time, wearing a non-contact jersey during morning skates.
“He’s been really, really pushing himself,” said forward and fellow Boston College product Brian Boyle. “What he’s done as a player for us this year, especially the way it started out for him [in AHL Hartford], he’s come a long way. He’s a huge part of our team.”
Vigneault would not declare whether Kreider might be available this series, saying he needs to speak to the team doctors before making any pronouncement, but he knows how big a boost Kreider can be if he does come back soon.
“The size and the speed would put pressure on their defense,” Vigneault said. “Obviously, Kreids was real good with the net presence on the power play. Him and [Benoit Pouliot], when we were using both those guys on different units, we were doing a real good job there. He would definitely bring a lot to our lineup, there’s no doubt there.”
Filling out the lineup on a daily basis has not be the easiest of things for Vigneault. Kreider left a gaping hole on his top two lines. That roster spot has been filled with a rotation of Jesper Fast, J.T. Miller, Dan Carcillo and Derek Dorsett. For Monday’s 2-0 loss in Game 3, Vigneault cited the schedule of five games in seven nights as a reason for making large-scale changes from the 3-0 shutout loss in Game 2 on Sunday.
“I just felt [Monday] night, maybe making a few subtle little changes would help our team,” said Vigneault, who subbed in Miller and Fast for Carcillo and Dorsett, swapping grit for skill (and energy). “It didn’t help as far as the finish and the outcome of the game, but I thought if you analyze our process and the way we played, it was pretty darn good.”
The Rangers played a solid game on Monday, outshooting the Penguins 35-15, but it wasn’t enough. Their power play went 0-for-5 and hasn’t scored a goal in its past 34 attempts.
Kreider already has played the role of postseason savior. Coming out of college in 2012 after winning a second straight national championship, he made his NHL debut in the Rangers’ run to the Eastern Conference finals, scoring five goals in 18 games.
It seems like a long time ago, but yet again, the Rangers will be looking to Kreider for some much-needed help.
“If we can have him back, he’s going to be ready to go,” Boyle said. “He’s going to be in shape, he’ll be excited to play. He’ll bring some energy for sure. And the speed and physicality that he brings to every game is something that will be welcome as well.”