It makes sense that Chris Kreider would have the best description of David Desharnais.
“Can’t speak enough about the professionalism of David,” Kreider said on Tuesday night after Desharnais assisted on both of his goals, collecting three assists during the Rangers’ 5-4 loss to the Panthers at the Garden.
Desharnais was supposed to be a healthy scratch for the fourth time in the past five games, but he got a call around 5:30 p.m. telling him to be ready for warm-ups. It turned out top-line center Mika Zibanejad was dealing with a mysterious “upper-body injury,” and after warm-ups Zibanejad revealed he couldn’t go and Desharnais slotted into his spot between Kreider and Pavel Buchnevich.
That line went on to score three times to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 4-4 tie with just over six minutes to play.
“Playing as well as he did and really carrying our line and carrying our team, that was really impressive and great to see,” Kreider said.
Previously, Desharnais had been unable to play his way into a consistent roster spot. Since signing a one-year, $1 million free-agent deal this summer, the 31-year-old’s penchant for costly turnovers and losing one-on-one battles outweighed his obvious offensive abilities.
It’s hard to tell how this one performance will affect his status in the mind of coach Alain Vigneault. There wasn’t any update on Zibanejad’s status, and the team had a day off Wednesday. The Rangers’ next game is Friday night at the Garden against the Hurricanes.
They are currently only carrying one extra forward, and the fourth line was reinvigorated Tuesday with Boo Nieves returning after he missed one game with a hip pointer. But if Zibanejad is able to play Friday, it’s hard to see Desharnais coming out. It’s possible that J.T. Miller could switch back to wing to make room for Desharnais, making it easier to scratch fourth-line winger Paul Carey.
Either way, it was a surprise performance from Desharnais, and he had some kind words going back in Kreider’s direction.
“I always know where he’s going to go,” Desharnais said. “I know what to expect from him, so I’m just looking for the dirty area and he’s going to be there, so he’s a pretty easy guy to play with.”