Once again, for at least another brief moment, Alain Vigneault is set to have his full lineup intact.
But the Rangers coach was not holding his breath as integral third-line center Kevin Hayes prepared to make his return in Tuesday’s Garden match against the Ducks from a five-game absence due to a presumed left-knee injury. Vigneault has been here before, gotten excited for the prospect of having a full lineup, and then watched it disappear almost immediately.
Go back to Jan. 17 and a game against the Stars, and that’s when Vigneault had his preferred top 12 forwards dressed. But that wild 7-6 loss couldn’t even end before Jesper Fast suffered an upper-body injury that would keep him out the next four games, going into the All-Star break.
That was the game that center Mika Zibanejad returned from his broken leg, suffered back on Nov. 20, an almost two-month timeframe that coincided with extended injury absences of Pavel Buchnevich and Rick Nash.
So, yes, Vigneault was happy to have his depth back, and was happy to try to find the same type of four-line attack that helped the Rangers get off to a 13-4-0 start and turn this season into one of high expectations rather than uncertainty. But he was acutely aware of how fleeting health can be.
“With Kevin right now, I think what we have is real good balance on all our lines,” Vigneault said Tuesday morning, getting ready to reunite Hayes on a line between J.T. Miller and Michael Grabner, while moving Fast – nicknamed “Quickie” – down to the fourth line with Oscar Lindberg and Pavel Buchnevich.
“I’m capable of putting Quickie on the fourth line, and I believe he’s been one of our most consistent players,” Vigneault added. “So if you want to play a high-tempo, fast game, you have to roll your lines quickly, you have to keep your shifts short and you have to play with pace. That’s what we’re going to try to do.”
Hayes, 24, was trying to be realistic about his return, knowing it wasn’t going to be easy to regain his previous form after being hurt on Jan. 22 in Detroit. He had his first full-team practice on Monday.
“If you don’t skate for four days, you get out of game shape,” Hayes told The Post. “So that’s the biggest thing that I’m concerned about here. Hopefully after the first couple shifts, get the rust out of there and back to normal.”
That would be an encouraging sign for the Rangers. The Grabner-Hayes-Miller line had been one of their most consistent combinations and consistent contributors at both ends of the rink. Hayes said the type of game each of his linemates plays complements one another, with Grabner’s speed and Miller’s physicality opening the ice for him to be a facilitator.
“Grabs is having a good year, Millsy is having a good year, I’m having a pretty good year, so it’s nice playing with those two,” said Hayes, whose 35 points (including 13 goals) through his first 47 games was fourth on the team. “I think we all just complement each other. Grabs opens up a lot of room, Millsy plays a heavy game, I’m kind of just looking for them.”
More reassuring for Vigneault is that both Hayes and Miller have picked up their defensive game, with the duo also being a penalty-killing tandem. In an even-strength defensive system, in which it’s first-man-back who plays down low rather than always the center, their awareness in the defensive zone is a big reason for their consistency.
“I like the dynamics there defensively,” Vigneault said. “Sometimes it’s Kevin down low, sometimes it’s J.T. down low. They have good read off one another.”
And no matter how long it lasts, Vigneault was happy to have that line reunited – and have his four-line attack back in place.
“They have good communication, and their speed and their size permits them to handle the puck, to keep the puck in the other team’s end and make some plays,” Vigneault said. “That’s one of the reasons they’ve been effective for us.”
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