Alain Vigneault met with the media on Thursday following Rangers practice and said (NYR):
- Is Rick playing tomorrow, "yes."
- Is Buchnevich, "I would say that unless something happens between now and then that both guys should be available to us. Pavel played three games in Hartford. First one they liked, second one they felt was just okay and the third one they liked. Skated well today, I think we are good to go."
- On Mika talking his way in, "he could if he really wanted to, but no, he just hasn't had any practice time. The other guys had been practicing, Pavel was playing, Nasher was practicing a long time with the group. In Mika's cast, he skated today as a defenseman, he will skate tomorrow morning with the group and I would say that his first real practice will be on Monday so after that it will probably be day to day."
- On the days off, "find out tomorrow (laugh), your guess is as good as mine right now. The guys looked sharp today, everyone was anxious to get back on the ice. Toronto is in the exact same situation, they had their bye week too."
- Will you coach differently, "I think there is no doubt that both coaches will roll four lines, see how their guys are feeling and executing on the ice. It's been five full days since they last touched the ice and we will see what happens tomorrow morning and tomorrow night."
- On Holden and Fast, "Nick, for sure. Jesper has been really under the weather the last 2-3 days, he lost something like 8 pounds. He came in today, we sent him home and we will see how he feels tomorrow."
- Are you curious to see how good you are with everyone, "it has been a while. During that time there has been some really good chemistry with Step and Kreids and Mats. The other lines have been moving parts except for Kevin, JT and Grabs, we put those three together and some good chemistry and speed and offensive production. The other lines have been moving parts because of who has been healthy or not healthy. I don't know if at any point we will be all there, I know tomorrow night I should have Rick Nash and Pavel, Nick should be there, it's a personal issue that I am sure he will straighten out with you guys tomorrow but I haven't talked to him yet, and Quickie I'm not sure."
- On Marc Staal, "Marc is feeling a little bit better, is going along, is going through the concussion protocol and it's a day by day and feel by feel thing. He has been through it before and hopefully he will be back sooner than later."
- On Buchnevich in Hartford, "like I mentioned, he played real well in the first game, very pleased with his first game back. Just okay in his second and they liked his third. They thought that he made some plays and got involved. Conditioning wise he seems to be where he is supposed to be. Hopefully that three game experience will prepare him to contribute here, before he got hurt the second time he was playing real well for us and that is the player we are looking for."
- On the rehab and training Buchnevich has had, "that is what we are hoping on and that is why we took the time that we did to strengthen his core and his back where he had some issues. We are keeping our fingers crossed and with all the hard work that he put in, we are hoping and we are confident that it will pay off. He's looked real good, he's been telling everyone that he feels fine and he has played and practiced and looked good."
- Would you like to get Mika and Buch back together, "keeping my fingers crossed but right now my focus is on tomorrow. We have a team coming in with speed and youth and skill and they have a lot of fire power, tremendous amount of speed and skill and they have been playing very well the last ten games and scoring in bunches and my mind and our teams mind has to be on that game and that is what we will make sure we are."
- On Clendening, "there is no doubt that the last game he played well in the third period. The group played well and he came up big on the PP, getting that shot through and using that screen in front of the net. Like the rest of our group he had a much better third period and we were able to come back against a team that had been playing well."
