Alain Vigneault met with the media on Thursday during Rangers breakup day and said (SNY):
"I think that I expressed it, in my opinion, fairly clearly, at the end of the last game. They made a couple of more plays. A defense play at a timely time, an offense play at a timely time and, we might believe that we deserved a better outcome, that we had maybe a little more as far as taking control of things in this series but at timely times they made the plays and that is why they won the series. It's a series, to a man, and Gorts and I just talked to all the players, to a man we all believe that we should still be playing. We are not, it's very disappointing. It's going to take some time to get over but I also think it's important to note that there were a lot of positives this year. We came in and retooled a little on the fly. For the most part we were one of the top five teams, top five in scoring. A lot of good things for a team that is retooling and wasn't given a lot of chance as far as getting into the playoffs. This disappointment will go into our bank of experience and maybe we will use it better next time."
On the positives, "that is the evolution for me, whether it be Kreider, Hayes, JT Miller. There were a lot of things that can be pointed out that we are making strides in the right direction. It does not, at all, eliminate the fact that...the disappointment of this loss .We will sit down in about 10 days and evaluate our season and what we do moving forward. There are positives to take out of this year."
Do you need to change up the group, "that is a good question and a valid question and something that I don't think I have an answer for you today but I do think that we are going to look at. We will get together in about 10 days, for a week, and go through everything from what we have here, to what we have in Hartford, to what we have coming up, to our individual roles and I will look at my staff and evaluate the whole hockey personnel that I am in charge of and see if there are some areas where we can do better. Your initial question is a very valid one, I just don't have an answer for you today."
Is there a collective message you want everyone to take, "Today, with Jeff, was more of a quick evaluation of the season, plans for the summer and what we want them focusing on. We will get to that other part a little later on in the summer."
Do any players need surgery, "There is one that will need some, but we are still waiting on the exact process. Just one. We should be able to tell you that tomorrow."
On Chris Kreider, "the Chris Kreider we saw in the third period of Game 6, boy, I would have liked to see him on a more regular basis. That is part of the growth and evolution as a player."
"It's not an effort thing, I know that, to a man, our guys were full of the right intentions. Probably has more to do with handling the moment, there is a lot at stake, guys put pressure on themselves, you gotta learn to handle the moments and go out and execute and play."
On how he did as a coach, "It's a good question but it's not something I can give you two days after. I am definitely going to sit with my group and evaluate our work and I will have an answer for you in a couple of weeks. At this time I would say that I am still shocked that we aren't playing hockey now and it's going to take me a little bit of time here."
On what he learned, "you pick up things that can help individual players because you have seen it before and you can help them seize that moment better and it makes you handle the next time quicker and better."
On Staal and Girardi being 20 minute guys, "that is a good question and I would say to you, we added Brady this summer. We have Mac that plays over 20 minutes. We are definitely looking at bringing in another young defenseman next year. I would say that if you ask them, they would say yes, I would say that it will sort itself out next year at training camp. There are some guys who are taking strides that deserve more minutes and will probably get more minutes and that means that some other guys will get less."
On Skjei, "he had a big role on our team this year. The games where we were behind or tied, he was getting a lot of minutes because we considered him to be one of our offensive defensemen. I think he went through a real good first year and understanding of the game and net year he should be better and more effective and ready for a bigger role and bigger minutes."
On Mika not wanting to play with fear, "that is part of a player figuring things out and figuring out and understanding the game and when the situation demands it, be more assertive, maybe a little smarter. Some players understand that quickly, some players take a little more time. In Mika's case he is at that crossroad where he has to figure it out. He has the tools and capabilities to be a high end center in this league and needs to put it together."
How does the coach work with Kreider to be consistent, "Chris Kreider is one of the hardest human beings I have ever been associated with. You see just with his physique and body that he works so hard and he is working on the mental aspect of making sure that he is engaged the right way, preparing himself the right way and I think Kreids has taken steps every year. This year was another step and experience for him and I think it will make him better."
On Zuccarello not playing in the Worlds for Norway, "he has had a long year, he didn't talk to me, I had a long talk with him, but he didn't bring that part up to me. That is the first I have heard of it, I can't answer if he is going or not and I can't tell you that I recommended him to go or not because he didn't bring it up to me."
On the expansion draft, "it's a good question and something that I know management has looked at, I haven't sat down with Gorts to go through the process and options. It's something that we will do a little this afternoon, we talked about exactly that, the coaches, him and Dru are going to get together and talk about that. It's something that we will take a look at in 10 days when the whole staff gets together with our scouts and we go through the season and analyze the areas where we can get better."
More on the expansion draft, "a lot of things can happen before that also. We will take it one at a time and see what is best for our group."
On trying to win for Henrik, "every year since I have been here, we are going in with trying to get into the playoffs, once you are in the playoffs you have as good a chance as any team out there. Hank this year, he had a season of ups and downs, played like the Hank that we all know in the Montreal series. In my estimation he is still one of the best goalies in the league and we will go into next season with the same goals. Gotta get in first and once you are in you can compete for the Cup."
Henrik Lundqvist will be joining his brother Joel at the World Championships for Team Sweden.
Breakup Day: Henrik Lundqvist Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist talks about the 2017 playoffs and his decision to join Team Sweden at the World Championships
Kevin Hayes and Brady Skjei will also be heading to the World's representing Team USA.
NYR Alumni Birthday 5/12
Sherman White C (1946-47,1949-50)
Today in NYR History May 12
2012: Brad Richards and Michael Del Zotto score in a 2-1 Game 7 win over the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden.
