Jimmy Vesey helped propel the Rangers' fourth line in his first game back from a lower-body injury.
Jimmy Vesey’s return to the New York Rangers’ lineup is a lot more impactful than many people may actually think.
After missing the first ten games of the season with a lower-body injury, Vesey came back for the Rangers’ Sunday afternoon matchup against the New York Islanders and made an immediate impact.
Vesey played a feisty game and really helped elevate the team’s fourth line with Sam Carrick and Adam Edström.
For Vesey, he knows that this is just the start and hopes to improve as time goes on as he gets fully integrated.
“Just play simple, just try to play my game,” Vesey said after Sunday’s game. “Unfortunately I missed some of training camp so just trying to get my legs going on the fly, but I thought it was a good start and hope I can build off it.”
The 31-year-old is the perfect two-way forward that the Rangers could use for their bottom-six unit.
He has the ability to produce points at a high level, but also does the little things that are extremely useful for a team especially in a playoff type of atmosphere.
“Jimmy is a veteran player who through the course of his lifetime, put up a lot of points,” Peter Laviolette said. “Through the course of his stay in the NHL, he’s learned how to do a lot of different things other than put up points. That doesn't mean he still can’t contribute offensively, I believe that he can. Smart player, veteran player. He’s a guy that can play on any line if he has to…”
Last season, Vesey recorded 13 goals, 13 assists and 26 points in 80 games while averaging 12:23 minutes pergame.
His usage should only increase and Vesey could very well be an X-factor for the Rangers down the road.
