Head coach Peter Laviolette continues to toy with his third pair on defense.
After deploying four different combinations to round out the Rangers defense corps in the previous five games, partially due to Ryan Lindgren’s return from injured reserve, Laviolette forged a new pairing in Braden Schneider and Victor Mancini during practice at MSG Training Center on Monday.
Schneider was back on his offside on the left after returning to his strong side for the first time this season against the Ducks Saturday night.
Mancini, on the other hand, was back in the top six after serving as a healthy scratch in the same aforementioned game.
That all projects to bump Zac Jones from the lineup for the fourth time this season Tuesday night against the Capitals.
“Listen, nobody’s happy when they get scratched, that’s for sure,” the 24-year-old defenseman said last week. “You can ask anybody in this locker room. They’re not going to be happy when they’re coming out of the lineup. It is what it is. It’s a business decision. I kind of just took it for what it was and used it as a reset almost.
“Tried not to think about it as being the seventh or being the odd man out, more of just take a reset, take a break, clear your head a little bit and whenever I get that next opportunity take advantage of it.”
After waiving Chad Ruhwedel and subsequently assigning the veteran defenseman to Hartford, the Rangers are carrying one extra defenseman.
Laviolette has always preached keeping players involved and in the mix, so the Rangers have essentially rotated their bottom pairing on a game-to-game basis since Lindgren became available.
Jimmy Vesey was a full participant in Monday’s practice, shedding the red non-contact jersey he’d been wearing since he rejoined the team after sustaining a lower-body injury in the preseason.
With two games left to miss for his stint on long-term injured reserve, Vesey could return to the Rangers lineup as soon as Sunday against the Islanders.
