Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was not going to project this too far into the future. Not on the eve of the week-long All-Star break.
But what he made clear in the third period of Tuesday night's 3-2 overtime win over the Senators at the Garden was, at least for one night, the identity of his top-nine forwards was clear.
"I just felt I needed to go with what I thought was our best nine forwards," he said, "and that's what I did."
So it was Kevin Hayes (7:41 total ice time) and Jesper Fast (9:04) not getting a single shift after the second period, and Lee Stempniak (7:56) getting just one. None of them played in the 2:55 of overtime.
The third line then became the trio of Carl Hagelin-Dom Moore-J.T. Miller, with Miller especially strong all night, creating chances that included hitting the post on a backhand attempt early in the second, along with a one-timer from the slot midway through the third that just went wide and would have been the go-ahead goal.
"In a [hard-]cap era, depth is limited on any team," Vigneault said before the game. "I think we're a good example of that."
The question of depth has been one Vigneault has dealt with all season, especially with his bottom two lines. He recently came up with a system where he had one "third line" for defensive-zone faceoffs, centered by Moore, and one "third line" for offensive-zone faceoffs, centered by Hayes. Following this game, questions of how he will assemble the roster after the break became even more pressing.
"For us to continue to improve, we definitely need Kevin Hayes, Jesper Fast, J.T. Miller, etc, etc, etc, to continue to improve," Vigneault said Tuesday afternoon. "We're no different than any other team in the league."
The game was No. 932 coached by Vigneault, tying him with his own boss, Glen Sather, for 26th on the all-time games coached list.
"I'm just thankful for the opportunity to coach good players," Vigneault said. "Good players permit you to win, and if you win, you're able to keep your job. So I've been very fortunate to have some real good players."
Vigneault now has a career record of 494-332-35-71, including 72-44-20 in his one-plus seasons with the Rangers. His win total of 494 is still three short of Sather's 497. (Sather also has four Stanley Cups as a coach, while Vigneault still searches for his first.)
Next up on the games coached list is Vigneault's predecessor, the currently unemployed John Tortorella, with 936.
Matt Hunwick stayed in the lineup on defense for the fourth straight game, in place of John Moore.
"He's played extremely well his last games," Vigneault said of Hunwick. "He's made some real good decisions with the puck and he's competed real hard when he hasn't had it. At this time, right now, I just feel he deserves to stay in."
Forward Tanner Glass missed his second straight game with an upper-body injury.
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