MORNING SKATE, LINEUP VS BOSTON

Oscar Lindberg scratched tonight for the Rangers

Oscar Lindberg will be scratched tonight for the Rangers when they play the Bruins at MSG. (Gross)
Chris Kreider is returning for the Rangers.

On Lindberg, Alain Vigneault said yesterday "I think he is like the rest of our group, he scored a big goal last night at a key moment, playing better at both ends of the rink. He is like the rest of our group, he needs to get better and he is getting better."

Lindberg had 1 goal and 9 assists with a minus two rating in 12 games in December after putting up 16 points in 25 games in October and November.

What Alain Vigneault said after the Rangers morning skate today

Alain Vigneault met with reporters following the Rangers morning skate this morning (NYR):

• On why Lindberg is out, "our fourth line is getting a little bit of chemistry and Hayes had a good game, last two games were good outings, and we have a LW coming in. Oscar has played well but I want to get Kreids in."
• On Kevin Hayes, "well he has been going to the tougher areas, that is how he scored his goal. He has made a couple of nice plays with the puck, he has protected it better and I sense a better battle level when he has and doesn't have the puck which is a good thing to see and hopefully it will continue."
• On Dan Boyle, "there is no doubt that in the last weeks he has been a dependable player defensively and everyone knows that we brought Dan in because he has a lot of PP experience, was able to run PPs in both Tampa and SJ and do a real good job. That experience and background and feedback to our group is something that we were looking for and his play here is like a lot of our players, it's picking up and getting better and it's at the right time because it's very competitive right now."
• "I've liked, when we break it down and analyze it, we like the possession and the looks we are getting. PPs sometimes go in streaks a little. We are playing a team tonight with the best PP in the league and they have great special teams units. That is a huge part of games, specifically with our PP the looks are there, hopefully we can just finish a little better than we have in the last few games."
• "It's a start, he has missed a couple of games and I know that this past week, even with the hand injury, he spent some time on video with Scott to look at different things. Just keep his game simple, if he can do that and use his attributes and strengths, he is a solid player and we need him to be good for us."