With McDonagh unavailable, Nick Holden is expected to be on the top pair with Dan Girardi. The 29-year-old, who was acquired by New York at least year's NHL Darft from Colorado for a fourth-round pick, has been a versatile blueliner for the Rangers, especially in the absences of Girardi and Kevin Klein earlier this month.
Lately, though, Vigneault said Holden has struggled but that that's par for the course during an NHL season, when few - if any - players don't face adversity during the marathon campaign.
"I thought the last game was a little more challenging," Vigneault said. "Nick has been dependable for us for most of the year. A little bit like any player in an 82-game schedule, there's going to be stretches of a game or two that might be a little more challenging, but for the most part he's been a dependable defensive-defenseman that's been able to find ways to chip in offensively, and that's what we're going to need from him moving forward."
Klein will return to the lineup after missing Thursday's game in San Jose, and will be paired with Marc Staal. Brady Skjei will stay on his natural left side on a pair with Brendan Smith.
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Forward Jimmy Vesey will be a healthy scratch tonight for the first time in his NHL career. And while Vigneault on Thursday said the rookie had an "off night" in San Jose, he still expects him to be part of the team's lineup come playoff time.
"There's no particular message. Tonight I just decided to go with [Matt Puempel] tonight," Vigneault said. "Jimmy has been a real solid player for us. His last game might have been a little bit more challenging. He was not the only one that had a challenging night, but for tonight we're just going that way. He's definitely going to be in our group moving forward."
The 23-year-old has appeared in 76 games this season. Add in preseason games and September's Traverse City Prospect Tournament, and Vesey has more than doubled the amount of hockey he's ever played in a single season.
Is that a factor in Vesey's performance Thursday when he was a minus-2 in 10:05?
"I would say I would have said no before last game," Vigneault said. "I think last game was just something that happens in an 82-game schedule to any player. Just feel that tonight that I wanted to go in another direction, but for sure Jimmy will be back in the lineup, most probably in the next game."
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Rangers Projected Lineup
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Mats Zuccarello
Pavel Buchnevich - Mika Zibanejad - Rick Nash
Michael Grabner - Kevin Hayes - Jesper Fast
Matt Puempel - Oscar Lindberg - J.T. Miller
Nick Holden - Dan Girardi
Marc Staal - Kevin Klein
Brady Skjei - Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist
Antti Raanta
