What Alain Vigneault said about Keith Yandle and his game recently
Asked about Keith Yandle before the Rangers played Montreal, Alain Vigneault said (NYR):
"Puck moving defenseman, I don't think his defensive game, as some people project, is a liability. He has played well for us defensively."
"He isn't an overly physical defenseman but he has good stick on stick, stays on the right side of his check."
"He sees the ice and you need to give him some latitude, he sees things out there that not everyone sees."
"Sometimes it will look good, sometimes it will make me a little edgy behind the bench but you gotta give players who have that skill level some latitude to make those plays."
He added that Yandle plays with "common sense" and will make certain decisions with the puck based upon game situations.
Vigneault said that things are different during tie games or near the end of periods "but there are some other moments where it's time to open it up and maybe take a higher risk play that might be able to pay off and help your team win a game."
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Oscar Lindberg is second on the Rangers in goals
Oscar Lindberg scored his 10th goal of the season on Thursday and is the first Ranger rookie to have 10 goals in the first 27 games of the season since Petr Prucha in 2005-06. (via the Rangers Game Notes)
Lindberg has three goals int he past five games and has 8 shots on goal in the past two games.
On the season, Lindberg is second on the team in goals (10), tied for third in points (17) and 18th in ice time per game at 12:34.
Joe Micheletti said on Thursday that Lindberg is an "all-around player" whose minutes are going to have to increase if he keeps playing this well. (MSG)
Lindberg said in late November that he had to get more involved again in the games and play hard. He said that he doesn't want to think about offense but instead the "simple stuff" and letting his game come from there. (Daily News)
He has had at least two hits in every game but two in the month of November.
Adam Rotter: Lindberg is solid and puts himself in the right position to score goals. As a rookie it's expected he will have some ups and downs but he has been pretty consistent in his overall game this season. With other players struggling and him playing well, it wouldn't be a surprise if Lindberg gets moved up to play a bit more of an offensive role while Derek Stepan is out.
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Chris Kreider is lost on the ice
On MSG last night, Joe Micheletti said that Chris Kreider looks "lost on the ice."
Joe said that he watched Kreider closely on Wednesday against the Islanders and again last night and said that he is "getting nothing done when he is on the ice."
He said that Kreider's play isn't only impacting himself but his linemates.
Joe said that it's not a matter of effort, just that Kreider looks lost and needs to stop watching video and make things as simple as possible.
He said that Kreider isn't playing physical and that in the third period he realized that he had barely even noticed Kreider in the game.
During the Rangers/Islanders game on Wednesday, Mike Milbury said that Kreider looked lost and needed to stop watching video of all of his shifts.
Kreider has had zero shots on goal in three of his last five games and his last goal came on Monday when he innocently swiped the puck toward the net and it went through Cam Ward.
Kreider said last week that his season is going about as bad as it possibly can.
Adam Rotter: It's now nearly 30 games into the season and Kreider just hasn't been very good for the Rangers. He isn't noticeable on the ice, isn't using his speed, his physicality or his shot when he gets the chance. He looks like someone who needs a reset and probably have his role limited to some degree. He is/was expected to breakthrough this year and be a major factor for the Rangers and it just seems like he is thinking about doing so many different things at once that it sucks all the life out of his game. With Derek Stepan out he probably feels an even bigger burden to do more but nothing is showing up on the ice.
I think the Rangers probably need to move him down in the lineup and task him with doing one thing, like being physical or chasing after pucks and just simplifying his game.
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