It’s curious to think what Alain Vigneault’s reaction might have been if someone walked up to him on June 22, the day after he was announced as the Rangers coach, and told him that after 33 games, his new team would be 15-17-1.
Because now, as that team prepares for the Flames at home on Sunday, they sit at that uninspiring mark while the smooth new coach has all the stock answers that one might expect about hard work and perseverance.
But did this job turn about to be a little bit tougher than he first imagined?
“No, not at all,” he said after Friday’s optional practice, one day removed from his team’s 4-2 loss to the Blue Jackets which made them 0-3-1 to open a season-long nine-game homestand.
“Throughout seasons you get moments like this where as a group your team is not, for whatever reason, is not performing. In an 82-game season, you’re going to see that, usually more than once. How you do that is internally and you work with your players and players work with one another to be supportive.”
Maybe Vigneault is right, and there is no reason to fret over a middling start, as assuredly there is no magic elixir coming to brighten the day. And as he politely pointed out, the Metropolitan Division is so weak that before play on Friday, they were just five points out of second place. In addition, behind Boston, Montreal and Pittsburgh, the Eastern Conference is filled with mediocre teams that wouldn’t stand a chance in the fast and furious west.
So if the Rangers do get into the playoffs, and do win a round, how bad was his first season — really?
“As much as we’re struggling in certain areas, and I think that’s clear for everybody, we’re still right in the picture,” Vigneault said. “The effort I’m seeing right now on and off the ice, we’re working our way to find the wins we need to get back on track.”
In doing so, Vigneault has altered his coaching style a bit to be tailored more to the personnel, which includes the absences of some key players due to injury. That has meant focusing more on defense, which harkens back to the coach of seasons past, John Tortorella.
“It’s a lot of change that’s happened here,” defenseman Ryan McDonagh said. “It’s easy to come up with a lot of excuses, but our group isn’t trying to make excuses. It’s on us. We know the system we’re supposed to play, and the way we’re supposed to play, and it’s just a matter of us doing it.”
So if even Vigneault isn’t willing to admit he’s surprised by the start, or surprised by how some of his players have performed, he feels he has a handle on the situation.
“As far as the overall picture of the team, I knew what I was getting into, the areas we had to work on,” Vigneault said. “I didn’t think it was going to come overnight, and it’s not.”
Vigneault said defenseman Marc Staal (concussion) has worked out off-ice for the past three days and is “doing well.” The coach said he doesn’t know what the next step back is, but Staal is at least making progress.
Center Derick Brassard (inflamed posterior) didn’t practice on Friday and Vigneault said he was unsure if he would be available Sunday.
Henrik Lundqvist will make his sixth straight start on Sunday, following Thursday’s game when he was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots in the first 11:10.