If the balance has gone awry and coach Alain Vigneault thinks his Rangers are getting away from their high-paced, high-skill game in favor of a more physical brand of hockey needed in the playoffs and enforced by the Canadiens, then a lineup change certainly could help alleviate that.
And he did his part in stoking those flames when he had talented 22-year-old Russian winger Pavel Buchnevich rotating in during Monday’s practice at the Garden, as well as having him on the first power-play unit.
Buchnevich has been a scratch for the opening three games of this first-round playoff series, the best-of-seven contest in which the Rangers trail, 2-1, heading into Tuesday night’s pivotal Game 4 at the Garden. They are coming off another postseason no-show on Broadway with Game 3’s 3-1 loss Sunday night, when their offense sputtered and their handling of the puck was negligent. But that wasn’t changing Vigneault’s philosophy, even if he does change the lineup in hopes of getting more skill plays.
“We’ve been playing a certain style this season that’s permitted us to get into the playoffs that, in my estimation, when we play it, we’re a hard team to play against,” Vigneault said. “I think we’ve shown in this series, in moments when we’ve played that way, we’re a hard team to play against. And from game to game, there’s different things that a certain team might do that’s making them a little harder to handle.
“So if you make minor adjustment as far as making a read or a puck decision, it could help your game. But as far as changing the overall way of how we play and how we have success, obviously that’s not going to happen.”
Yet inserting Buchnevich in place of Tanner Glass certainly would change the makeup of Vigneault’s lineup, even if Glass has been one of the team’s best forwards through the first three games and one of the only legitimate physical presences on the roster. The two polar opposites took turns rotating on a line with Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad, both of whom have struggled.
That would be a very skilled line with Buchnevich on the right, and also one that had some success in the preseason and very early in the regular season. But as the grind wore on, Buchnevich missed a lot of time with a core/back issue and never quite gained the same traction late in the schedule, when the space on the ice was limited and the teams got more physical. If he struggled in that type of atmosphere, it’s hard to think he could handle the Canadiens, who have given no quarter in the corners or along the walls.
“I’m looking at all our options right now,” Vigneault said when asked directly about Buchnevich. “There is definitely a lot of credit to be given with how well [the Canadiens] are playing, not only without the puck, but with the puck and the decisions they’re making. Some of our problems have come a lot on our puck management. We need to do a better job.”
With the power play having gone 0-for-10 in the series, Buchnevich also could bring a new element there. Vigneault juggled the combinations at practice to get Buchnevich on the top unit with point-man Ryan McDonagh.
Yet it hardly guarantees any change is coming. Heck, Vigneault is the same guy who ran out some fake lines in pregame warmup Sunday in a bit of subterfuge.
He might believe the same group that played the first three games can just play better, and the insertion of Buchnevich won’t help right now. He obviously believes that narratives like his team’s woes at home can be changed, so much so that he invoked Sergio Garcia’s breakthrough win at the Masters a week ago as an example.
“That’s what the guy that just won the Masters did. He knocked all those bad — whether it be rounds or majors out of his head — and he went out and won,” Vigneault said. “Most of the experts, most of the people, most of the fans, thought that he couldn’t do it, and he did.
“That’s the beauty of sports: You get opportunities, and that’s what we’re going to get.”