Unless Kevin Hayes encounters a setback while skating in the morning, No. 13 will return to the Rangers’ lineup for Tuesday’s match at the Garden against the Ducks. Hayes has been sidelined for the last five games with the presumed left knee injury he sustained in Detroit on Jan. 22.
“Hopefully I’m in game shape [but] you have to come back sometime,” said the improper Bostonian, who donned a Tom Brady jersey at the beginning of practice and then again in the room after coming off the ice. “The first couple of shifts I’m sure I’ll be thinking about it, but I feel good enough to get back in.”
And when he does return, he will slide into the middle of the third line between Michael Grabner and J.T. Miller. Miller centered the unit (most often with Jesper Fast on the other wing) in Hayes’ absence.
“I thought he did great there,” Hayes said of his prodigal linemate and penalty-kill partner with whom he has combined for four shorthanded goals. “The way our system is, we play off one another so whoever is back first takes the defensive responsibility down low. I think the three of us have developed a pretty good feel for one another and chemistry as a line.”
Presuming Hayes’ good health, coach Alain Vigneault will have 14 healthy forwards for the first time from which to cull a lineup. It is expected that Blueshirts, who currently own approximately $6.4 million of full-season cap space that would translate to the $10.1 million neighborhood at the March 1 trade deadline (per Capfriendly.com), will keep two extras up front rather than risking losing one for nothing via waivers.
But Vigneault won’t only face personnel decisions each night, the coach will also confront choices on how to deploy his 12 forwards. And with both the Chris Kreider-Mika Zibanejad-Mats Zuccarello unit and the Hayes line accounted for, his key decision is whether he’ll go with Jimmy Vesey or Pavel Buchnevich as second-line left wing with Derek Stepan and Rick Nash. The other will join Oscar Lindberg and Fast on the fourth line.
For now, it is Vesey on the second line and Buchnevich on the fourth.
Overall, Vesey has a 45.1 percent Corsi in 610 minutes of 5-on-5. It is 51.3 percent with Stepan and 42.1 without him; 46.7 percent with Nash, 44.2 without him, according to Stats.HockeyAnalysis.com.
Per Datarink.com, the Vesey-Stepan-Nash combination that was intact for 10 straight games from Oct. 22-Nov. 8, has a 50 percent possession rating in 133 minutes of 5-on-5.
On Thursday in Buffalo, Vesey had his strongest game in weeks when reunited with Stepan and Nash. He looked like a different guy. But No. 26 couldn’t keep it up against the Flames on Sunday and traded places with Buchnevich for a few shifts late in the second before Vigneault returned to his original alignment for the third period, during which the Blueshirts scored three times in the 4-3 victory.
Vesey has recorded one goal for one point in his last 13 games and two goals (with one assist) in his last 22. Buchnevich — who has played in only 20 games compared to Vesey’s 51 — has gone six games without a point after recording two goals and four assists in his first four games after being sidelined for two months with back and core issues.
“Performance,” Vigneault said when asked for his thought process in determining who joins Stepan and Nash. “In Buffalo, I thought Jimmy played well. On Sunday, after 14 minutes of the second period I’d seen enough and made some changes but then [starting the third] I wanted to show guys confidence and went back to our lines. And they played better.
“But it’s about performance. I think Jimmy lately has been better and that’s why he’s there.”
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